toe (to)

[ The fairest feete that euer freke [person] kende, With ton tidily wrought, & tender of hur skinne. A lisa under of Macedoine (E. E. T. S.), 1. 194. Come, and trip it, as you go, On the light fantast ick toe . Milton, L'Allegro, 1. 34. 2. A digit of either foot, fore or hind, of a quadruped, especially when there are three or more (a large single toe, or a pair of large toes, inclosed in horn, being commonly called hoof ). No animal has normally more than five toes; most quadrupeds have five, then four, three, two, and one, in decreasing number of imstances. No bird has naturally more than four, though some breeds of poultry are regularly five-toed by perpetuation of an original sport comparable to the sex digitate polydactylism of man; a few have only three; the African ostrich alone has two. Five toes is the rule in reptiles and batrachians, a le er number being exceptional among those which have limbs, as lizards, crocodiles, turtles, frogs, newts, etc. In some lizards, as those which scramble over walls and ceilings, the toes 6365 function as suckers by means of adhesive pads (see gecko ); batrachians which habitually perch on trees are similarly equipped (see tree - toad ); in a rare case, toes serve as a sort of parachute (see cut under flying -frog). In some mammals, as seals, the toes are united in the common integument of the flippers. Three and sometimes four toes are connected in web-footed birds. The joints or phalanges of toes are typically and usually three apiece, but this number is often reduced to two or one in the case of lateral toes, as the human great toe. In birds a remarkable rule prevails, that the joints of the toes, from first to fourth toe, run two, three, four, five; the excep tions to this rule are comparatively few. The toes of most animals end in nails or claws, and are often long and movable enough to serve as organs of prehension, like fingers. See cuts under bird1, digitigrade, Plant i grad a, bicolligate, palmate, semi - palmate, and totipalmate. Lyk asur were his [the cock's] legges and his toon . Chaucer, Nun's Priest's Tale, 1. 42. 3. The fore part, end, or tip of the hoof of an ungulate, as the horse.-4. The end of a stocking, shoe, or boot which contains or covers the toes: as, square or round toes; a hole in the toe.-5. A piece of iron welded under the front slipping. See cut under shoe.-6. A projection of a horseshoe, opposite the heels, to prevent from the foot-piece of an object to give it a broader bearing and greater stability. Buttre walls should be placed at intervals, opposite to one another, and strutted apart at their toes by an inverted arch. Encyc. Brit ., IV. 450. 7. A barb, stud, or projection on a lock-bolt.8. In mach.: (a) The lower end of a vertical shaft, as a mill-spindle, which rests in a step. (b) An arm on the valve-lifting rod of a steam engine. A cam strikes the toe and operates the valve. haust-toes. E. H. Knight. - Balls of the toes, fleshy and callous pads or protuberances on the under side of the toes of any foot, and especially such formations at the bases of toes. In digitigrade quadrupeds these balls form the whole sole, as explained under that word. In birds they are technically called tylari. From top to toe. See top1.- Great toe, the toe on the inner side of the foot, corresponding to the thumb. - Hammer-toe, an affection in which the second phalanx of one or more of the toes is permanently flexed upon the first. - Hind toe, in ornith., the hallux. When there are two hind toes, as in zygodactyl or yoke-toed birds, the inner one is the hallux, or hind toe proper, excepting in in which the toes are known respectively as steam -toes and ex outer one is the hallux. In the three-toed woodpeckers, where the hallux is wanting, the reversed outer toe takes the name and place of hind toe. - Little toe, the outermost and smallest toe on the human foot, and the corresponding digit in some other cases, irrespective of its actual relative size. - Toe-and-heel pedal. See pedal. To tread on one's toes. See tread. - To turn up one's toes, to die. [Slang.] toe (to), v.; pret. and pp. toed, ppr. toeing. [ The rushers [in foot-ball] draw up in line facing each other and toeing a line which marks the centre of the Tribune Book of Sports , p. 124. field. 2. To furnish or provide a toe to or for; mend the toe of: as, to toe a stocking. To toe a nail, to drive a nail obliquely. See toe - nail, 2. - To toe a seam (naut.). See seam1. - To toe the mark. See mark1.To toe the scratch. See scratch1. II. in trans. To place or move the toes, as in walking or dancing. - To toe in or out, to turn the toes inward or outward in walking.