Toadstool

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ˈtəʊdˌstuːl/

Definitions

1. A type of fungus with a stem and a cap that is typically inedible and can be poisonous to humans
2. A non-edible fungal species that features a stalk and cap, often associated with toxicity in nature
3. A mushroom-like fungus with a stalk and cap often considered toxic or inedible

Etymology: The name is a plain compound: "toad" plus "stool," with "stool" in its older sense of a seat or support rather than a toilet. The most striking part is the parallel in other languages. Dutch "paddenstoel" and Saterland Frisian "Poagestoul" (literally "frog's stool") show that the same image of a fungus as a little seat for amphibians arose independently across related Germanic tongues. Dialectal English "frogstool" points the same way, so the pairing of a small creature with a stool appears to be an old and widely shared picture rather than an English quirk. The idea behind the image is that the cap of a mushroom looks like a little seat on a single leg, and that toads and frogs were imagined as its natural occupants, sitting in damp places where such fungi grow. The Middle English forms "tode-stole" and "tadstol" show the word already in use in that period, with spelling varying from scribe to scribe before settling into the modern form.

Synonyms: mushroom