ENGLISH
REFERENCE

toby

n. countable
C2 Proficiency US //ˈtoʊbi// to·by Archaic Dialect Slang

n. a ceramic mug or jug made to look like a person, usually wearing a three-cornered hat. These are often collected as decorations and show a person's full body, not just the face.

n. a ceramic pitcher or mug shaped in the form of a seated person, typically a stout man in 18th-century attire. Often distinguished from a character jug, which depicts only the head and shoulders.


SIMPLE

My grandmother keeps an old toby on the kitchen shelf.

CONTEXTUAL

The antique shop specialized in Victorian ceramics, including several rare toby jugs from the early nineteenth century.

COMPLEX

While many modern reproductions exist, a genuine eighteenth-century toby is highly prized by collectors for its intricate hand-painted details and historical glaze techniques.

Etymology 1

The Middle English vernacular form of Tobias.

Etymology 2

From Shelta toba (“the road”).

Usage

Commonly used in the compound phrase 'toby jug'.

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