frog¹ / frôg; fräg/ • n. 1. a tailless amphibian with a short squat body, moist smooth skin, and very long hind legs for leaping. Frogs are found in most families of the order Anura, but the ‘true frogs’ are confined to the large family Ranidae. 2. (Frog) derog. a French person.• v. [intr.] hunt for or catch frogs.PHRASES: have a frog in one's throat inf. lose one's voice or find it hard to speak because of hoarseness.frog² • n. a thing used to hold or fasten something, in particular: ∎  an ornamental coat fastener or braid consisting of a spindle-shaped button and a loop through which it passes. ∎  an attachment to a belt for holding a sword, bayonet, or similar weapon. ∎  a perforated or spiked device for holding the stems of flowers in an arrangement. ∎  the piece into which the hair is fitted at the lower end of the bow of a stringed instrument. ∎  a grooved metal plate for guiding the wheels of a railroad vehicle at an intersection.frog³ • n. an elastic horny pad growing in the sole of a horse's hoof, helping to absorb the shock when the hoof hits the ground. ∎  a raised or swollen area on a surface.

frog the word frog was used as as a general term of abuse in Middle English, and was applied specifically to the Dutch in the 17th century; its application to the French (late 18th century) is partly alliterative, partly from the reputation of the French for eating frogs' legs.

Allusions are also found to a traditional fairy story, recorded by the Grimm brothers, in which a frog in a pool returns a princess's lost golden ball in return for her promise that he may live with and be loved by her. When he claims the reward her father makes her keep her promise; the frog eats from her plate and sleeps in her room. In the original story it is when she has thrown him against the wall that he turns into his real shape, that of a handsome prince, who is now her lover and husband; the usual version is that it is when she kisses him that the enchantment is broken and he is restored.
have a frog in one's throat lose one's voice or find it hard to speak because of hoarseness. The expression dates from the early 20th century, but frog here relates to an earlier meaning of a soreness or swelling in the mouth or throat.

frog Tailless amphibian, found worldwide. Frogs have long hind limbs, webbed feet, and external eardrums behind the eyes. Most begin life as tadpoles after hatching from gelatinous eggs, usually laid in water. Some frogs remain aquatic, some terrestrial living in trees or underground. Most have teeth in the upper jaw and all have long sticky tongues attached at the front of the mouth to capture live food, usually insects. Length: 2.5–30cm (1–12in). Subclass Salientia (or Anura), divided into 17 families; the most typical genus is Rana. See also toad

FROG

FROG (Heb. צְפַרְדֵּעַ; ẓefarde'a). One of the ten plagues visited upon Egypt was that of frogs (Ex. 7:29; Ps. 78:45; 105:30). They apparently made life intolerable for the Egyptians by their shrill croaking and by contaminating food with their moist bodies. The frog, Rana esculenta, is found in Israel near bodies of water. The word ẓefarde'a may also refer to the toad (Bufo). While the frog is, according to the laws of the Torah, prohibited as food, it is not included among the swarming things which, by contact, make man, vessels, and food unclean (cf. Lev. 11:29–30; Toh. 5:4).

bibliography:

Tristram, Nat Hist, 280f.; J. Feliks, Animal World of the Bible (1962), 112. add. bibliography: Feliks, Ha-Ẓome'aḥ, 272.

[Jehuda Feliks]

frog1 tailless amphibious animal. OE. frogga, similar in form to docga DOG, etc.; rel. to OE. forsċ, frosċ, frox = MLG., Du. vorsch, OHG. frosc (G. frosch), ON. froskr :- Gmc. *froskaz, prob. :- *frudskaz, f. *frud- *fraud- *frūd-, whence also ME. frūde, froude (XII–XV) frog or toad, ON. frauðr.