toke

English

Pronunciation

• (UK) enPR: tōk, IPA^(key): /təʊk/
• Rhymes: -əʊk
• (US) enPR: tōk, IPA^(key): /toʊk/

• Audio (US)

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• Audio (AU)

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• Rhymes: -əʊk

Etymology 1

Clipping of token.

Noun

toke (plural tokes)

1. (US, slang, casinos) A gratuity.

   I gave the maitre d’ a $10 toke and he just laughed.

Verb

toke (third-person singular simple present tokes, present participle toking, simple past and past participle toked)

1. (transitive, US casino slang) To give a gratuity to.

   You have to toke the maitre d’ at least $50 if you want a really good table.

Etymology 2

Presumably from Spanish tocar (“touch”). Noun sense 1968, verb 1952.

Noun

toke (plural tokes)

1. (slang) A puff of marijuana.

   The artist took a thoughtful toke off the joint, then passed it along.

2. (slang, by extension) An inhalation or lungful of anything.
   • 2011, Tim Winton, Dirt Music:

     Back on the wards a big toke of O₂ might have done the job; it was God's own pick-me-up.

Verb

toke (third-person singular simple present tokes, present participle toking, simple past and past participle toked)

1. (slang) To smoke marijuana.

   Let's roll up a doobie and toke.

   • 2009 August 23, Walter Kirn, “Drugs to Do, Cases to Solve”, in New York Times‎:

     This keeps Doc’s workload relatively light, freeing him to stay stoned around the clock and live in the now, which isn’t hard for him, because he’s toked away his short-term memory.

2. (slang) To inhale a puff of marijuana

Derived terms

Etymology 3

Noun

toke (plural tokes)

1. (slang, obsolete) A piece of bread.
   • 1905, H. G. Wells, Kipps: The Story of a Simple Soul:

     Toke and cold ground rice pudding with plums it used to be—there is no better food at all.

References

Anagrams

• keto, keto-

Japanese

Romanization

toke

1. Rōmaji transcription of とけ

Lindu

Noun

toke

1. chameleon

Maori

Etymology 1

From Proto-Polynesian *toke (compare with hōtoke, Hawaiian koʻekoʻe, Tahitian toʻetoʻe).

Noun

toke

1. (obsolete) cold

Related terms

• hōtoke

References

Etymology 2

Noun

toke

1. worm

Synonyms

• noke

Further reading

• “toke” in John C. Moorfield, Te Aka: Maori–English, English–Maori Dictionary and Index, 3rd edition, Longman/Pearson Education New Zealand, 2011, →ISBN.

Middle English

Verb

toke

1. first/third-person singular past indicative of taken; took
   • 1407, The Testimony of William Thorpe, pages 40–41:

     "And herfore of Wicleef speciali and of these men I toke the lore whiche I haue taughte and purpose to lyue aftir, if God wole, to my lyues ende.”

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)