toco

See also: tóco, tocó, tǫco, and toco-

English

Etymology 1

Shortening.

Noun

toco (plural tocos)

1. Clipping of tocodynamometer.

Etymology 2

From Hindi ठोको (ṭhoko), second-person plural imperative form of ठोकना (ṭhoknā, “to strike, hit, beat”), from Sauraseni Prakrit *𑀞𑁄𑀓𑁆𑀓𑀤𑀺 (*ṭhokkadi), from Ashokan Prakrit *𑀞𑁄𑀓𑀢𑀺 (*ṭhokati).

Alternative forms

• toko

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈtəʊ.kəʊ/
• (US) enPR: tōʹkō, IPA^(key): /ˈtoʊ.koʊ/
• Rhymes: -əʊkəʊ

Noun

toco (uncountable)

1. (obsolete, British slang) Corporal punishment; chastisement; beatings.
   • 1857, Thomas Hughes, “Rugby and Football”, in Tom Brown's School Days‎^[2], London: Macmilla and Co., published 1928, page 95:

     The School leaders come up furious, and administer toco to the wretched fags nearest at hand; they may well be angry, for it is all Lombard-street to a china orange that the School-house kick a goal with the ball touched in such a good place.

   • 1885, W[illiam] S[chwenck] Gilbert, Arthur Sullivan, The Mikado‎^[3], London: G. Bell and Sons, published 1911, act 1, page 17:

     Yum-Yum: But as I'm engaged to Ko-Ko, / To embrace you thus, con fuoco, / Would distinctly be no gioco, / And for yam I should get toco—
     Both: Toco, toco, toco, toco.

Derived terms

• give toco
• toco for yam

Etymology 3

From taxonomic name Ramphastos toco.

Noun

toco (plural tocos)

1. Synonym of toco toucan
   • 2007, Les Beletsky, Bird Songs from Around the World, Chronicle Books, →ISBN, page 90:

     The Toco Toucan is surely among the most striking of the toucans, with its black-and-white body and enormous yellow-orange bill. [...] Tocos make loud rattling or clacking sounds with their bills.

   • 2014, R. Eric Miller, Murray E. Fowler, Fowler's Zoo and Wild Animal Medicine, Volume 8 - E-Book, Elsevier Health Sciences, →ISBN, page 234:

     Diabetes mellitus has been reported in tocos (R. toco) and keel-billed toucans.

Anagrams

• octo-, coot, coto, Coto

Asturian

Verb

toco

1. first-person singular present indicative of tocar

Catalan

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Central) [ˈtɔ.ku]
• IPA^(key): (Balearic, Valencia) [ˈtɔ.ko]

Verb

toco

1. first-person singular present indicative of tocar

Galician

A Toca Roman mine

Etymology 1

From a substrate pre-Latin language, from Proto-Indo-European *tewh₂- (“to swell”).

Akin to Spanish tocón (“stump”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈtoko̝/, (northwestern) /ˈtɔko̝/

Adjective

toco (feminine toca, masculine plural tocos, feminine plural tocas)

1. maimed; one-handed; one-armed

Noun

toco m (plural tocos)

1. burrow, den

   Synonyms: tobo, pala

2. stump

   Synonyms: cepa, coto, cozo

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Verb

toco

1. first-person singular present indicative of tocar

References

• Antón Luís Santamarina Fernández, editor (2006–2013), “toco”, in Dicionario de Dicionarios da lingua galega [Dictionary of Dictionaries of the Galician language] (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Antón Luís Santamarina Fernández, Ernesto Xosé González Seoane, María Álvarez de la Granja, editors (2003–2018), “toco”, in Tesouro informatizado da lingua galega (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Rosario Álvarez Blanco, editor (2014–2024), “toco”, in Tesouro do léxico patrimonial galego e portugués (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega, →ISSN

Portuguese

Etymology 1

Unknown. Compare Spanish tueco (“stump”), tocón (“stump”) and Galician toco (“burrow, stump”).

Alternative forms

• tôco (pre-reform spelling)

Pronunciation

 

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈto.ku/

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈto.ku/
  • (Southern Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈto.ko/

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈto.ku/

• Rhymes: -oku
• Hyphenation: to‧co

Noun

toco m (plural tocos, metaphonic)

1. stub, stump (something cut short, blunted, or stunted)

Usage notes

The plural may be pronounced with either /o/ or /ɔ/.

Related terms

• cotoco

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Pronunciation

 

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈtɔ.ku/

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈtɔ.ku/
  • (Southern Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈtɔ.ko/

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈtɔ.ku/

• Rhymes: -ɔku
• Hyphenation: to‧co

Verb

toco

1. first-person singular present indicative of tocar

Further reading

• “toco”, in Dicionário Aulete Digital (in Portuguese), Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon Editora Digital, 2008–2026
• “toco”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2026
• “toco”, in Dicionário infopédia da Lingua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Porto: Porto Editora, 2003–2026
• “toco”, in Michaelis Dicionário Brasileiro da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), São Paulo: Editora Melhoramentos, 2015–2026, →ISBN

Spanish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈtoko/ [ˈt̪o.ko]
• Rhymes: -oko
• Syllabification: to‧co

Etymology 1

Borrowed from Quechua t'uqu (“hole”).

Noun

toco m (plural tocos)

1. (Bolivia) a tree trunk cut to make a seat

Etymology 2

Verb

toco

1. first-person singular present indicative of tocar

Etymology 3

Borrowed from Ligurian toco.

Noun

toco m (plural tocos)

1. (Rioplatense) piece

Synonym: petardo

Further reading

• “toco”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025