toast

name

1. Initialism of The Oversized-Attribute Storage Technique: a mechanism in PostgreSQL that allows rows of data to exceed the normal maximum size by splitting off part of the data into an auxiliary table.

noun

Etymology: From Middle English tost, from the verb tosten (see below). Sense 3 is according to the Oxford English Dictionary a figurative application of sense 1 dating to 1674. It began as an epithet for a lady being supposed to flavour a bumper like a spiced toast placed in that drink. (In this context, a bumper is a drinking vessel filled to the brim.)

1. Bread that has been toasted (cooked lightly by browning).

   “I ate a piece of toast for breakfast.”

   “This toast and marmalade tastes heavenly.”

2. A proposed salutation (e.g. saying "cheers") while drinking alcohol.

   “At the reception, there were many toasts from the well-wishers.”

   “The evening meal was "a repast of most recherché description," involving an endless series of toasts to almost everybody (with the notable exception of the other railway already serving Brentford, which came in for some hard knocks from various speakers).”

3. A person, group, or notable object to which a salutation with alcohol is made; a person or group held in similar esteem.

   “He was the toast of high society.”

   “Josephine Baker did not become the toast of Paris by just shaking her booty for some theater gypsies as a party wound down.”

4. Something that is irreparably damaged or used up, especially when destroyed by heat or fire; something which has been burnt to a crisp or incinerated.

   “The metal frame survived the fire, but the plastic and rubber bits are toast.”

5. Something that will be no more; something subject to impending destruction, harm or injury.

   “to become/be toast”

   “If I ever get my hands on the guy that stole my wallet, he’s toast!”

6. A type of extemporaneous narrative poem or rap.
7. An old toast ("a lively fellow who drinks excessively").
8. A transient, informational pop-up overlay, less interactive than a snackbar.

   “With the new Windows Push Notification Service, you can remotely send notifications from a cloud-based web service. In Windows 8, the majority of the Toast messages are standard duration toasts.”

9. A piece of toast.

   “Go, fetch me a quart of Sacke, put a toſt in't.”

verb

Etymology: From Middle English tosten, from Old French toster (“to roast, grill”), from Latin tostus (“grilled, burnt”), from verb torreō (“to burn, grill”).

1. To cook lightly by browning by means of direct exposure to a fire or other heat source.

   “We used to enjoy toasting marshmallows around the campfire.”

2. To cook lightly by browning under a grill or in a toaster; to grill.

   “Top with cheese and toast under the grill for a few minutes.”

3. To engage in a salutation, often with raising of the drinking vessel, while drinking an alcoholic beverage in honor of someone or something.

   “We toasted the happy couple many times over the course of the evening.”

   “You all have achieved so much together thus far, so I think that deserves a toast! Let's toast!”

4. To warm thoroughly.

   “I toasted my feet by the fire.”

5. To perform an extemporaneous narrative poem or rap.

   “Toasting over a record does more than change the way that record is perceived by the audience: it creates a new piece of music with joint creative authorship, although the law does not support this characterization.”