toss

Meanings

1. 1
   verb

   To throw something gently or carelessly.

   Toss me the ball, I'm open!

2. 2
   verb

   To mix food lightly, especially a salad.

   Toss the salad with a little olive oil.

3. 3
   noun

   A quick, throwing movement of part of the body.

   With a toss of her head, she walked away.

4. 4
   noun

   The act of throwing something, especially a coin to decide something.

   They settled the argument with the toss of a coin.

From Middle English tossen (“to buffet about, agitate, toss; to sift or winnow”), of uncertain origin. Perhaps from Old Norse (compare dialectal Norwegian tossa, dialectal Swedish tossa (“to strew, spread”)), or perhaps from an alteration of Middle English tosen (“to tease, pull apart, shred; to wound, injure”). Compare also Dutch tassen (“to pile or heap up, stack”). The Welsh tos (“a quick jerk”) and tosio (“to jerk, toss”) are probably borrowed from the English.

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