English Explanatory Dictionary

milquetoast

English dictionary entry

Meanings

adj
  1. Meek, timid; lacking character or effectiveness.
noun
  1. A person of meek or timid disposition; a person who lacks character or effectiveness.
adj
  1. Alternative letter-case form of milquetoast.
noun
  1. Alternative letter-case form of milquetoast.

Pronunciation

/ˈmɪlktəʊst/ LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-milquetoast.wav /ˈmɪlkˌtoʊst/

Word forms

milquetoast more milquetoast most milquetoast milktoast milquetoasts

Etymology

Named after Caspar Milquetoast, a character from the comic strip The Timid Soul, created by American cartoonist Harold Tucker Webster (1885–1952) and first published in 1924; the character was named after the American dish milk toast (“a food consisting of toasted bread in warm milk”).

Synonyms

feeble ineffectual insipid softy wimp wuss big girl's blouse candy-arse candy-ass crybaby milksop milquetoast namby namby-pamby nestle-cock pansy pantywaist poon punk pushover pussy sissy tenderling weakling weenie wussy

Related words

milk drinker

Derived words

milquetoasty
This entry uses open data from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA/GFDL). Word forms are used for search and are not indexed as separate pages.
Back to search All on M Russian dictionary Dahl dictionary