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tout

noun, verb — 12 senses

tout

noun

/taʊt/ · CA /tʌʊt/

Etymology From Middle English touten (“to jut out, protrude, gaze upon, observe, peer”), from Old English *tūtian (“to be sticking out, protrude”), related to Old English tȳtan (“to stand out, be conspicuous, shine”), ultimately from Proto-Germanic *tut(t)- (“to stick out, project”). Compare Icelandic túta (“a teat-like prominence”), tútna (“to be blown up”). Possibly influenced by dialectal toot (“to stick out; project; peer out; peep”), from Middle English toten, totien, from Old English tōtian (“to peep out; look; pry; spectate”). Compare also Old English tot, ġetot (“pomp, splendour, vainglory”).

1

Someone advertising for customers in an aggressive way.

  • Be careful of the ticket touts outside the arena; they are famed for selling counterfeits.
  • Paul Muniment looked at his young friend a moment. 'Do you want to know what he is? He's a tout.' 'A tout? What do you mean?' 'Well, a cat's-paw, if you like better.'1886, Henry James, The Princess Casamassima, London: Macmillan and Co.:
1 more example
  • Damn, he's a tout.2023 December 23 [2009], Kazune Kawahara, translated by Hana Allen, The Secret of Friendship, Seven Seas Entertainment, translation of 友だちの話 [Tomodachi no Hanashi], →ISBN, page 6:
2

A person at a racecourse who offers supposedly inside information on which horse is likely to win.

  • No one, however, would have anything to do with him, as Mr. Keeson's orders in those respects were very strict ; he had often threatened any one of his employés with instant dismissal if he found him in company with one of these touts.1904–1905, Baroness Orczy [i.e., Emma Orczy], “The Hocussing of Cigarette”, in The Case of Miss Elliott, London: T[homas] Fisher Unwin, published 1905, →OCLC; republished as popular edition, London: Greening & Co., 1909, OCLC 11192831, quoted in The Case of Miss Elliott (ebook no. 2000141h.html), Australia: Project Gutenberg of Australia, February 2020:
3

Colloquial An informer in the Irish Republican Army.

  • The Derry Brigade of the IRA thought it had got rid of its informer problem when earlier that year it executed Paddy Flood as a tout, after holding him for six weeks.2011, Hugh Jordan, Milestones in Murder: Defining Moments in Ulster's Terror War:
4

Archaic, Colloquial A spy for a smuggler, thief, or the like.

Derived terms
ticket tout

tout

verb

Etymology From Middle English touten (“to jut out, protrude, gaze upon, observe, peer”), from Old English *tūtian (“to be sticking out, protrude”), related to Old English tȳtan (“to stand out, be conspicuous, shine”), ultimately from Proto-Germanic *tut(t)- (“to stick out, project”). Compare Icelandic túta (“a teat-like prominence”), tútna (“to be blown up”). Possibly influenced by dialectal toot (“to stick out; project; peer out; peep”), from Middle English toten, totien, from Old English tōtian (“to peep out; look; pry; spectate”). Compare also Old English tot, ġetot (“pomp, splendour, vainglory”).

7 senses
  1. 1To flaunt, to publicize/publicise; to boast or brag…
  2. 2To spy out information about (a horse, a racing stable, etc.).
  3. 3To give a tip on (a racehorse) to a person, with the…
  4. 4To spy out the movements of racehorses at their trials…
  5. 5To act as a tout; to give a tip on a racehorse.
  6. 6To look for, try to obtain; used with for.
  7. 7To look upon or watch.
1

To flaunt, to publicize/publicise; to boast or brag about; to promote.

  • Mary has been touted as a potential successor to the current CEO.
  • China has touted its policy of non-interference for decades.2016 January 25, “Why Arabs would regret a toothless Chinese dragon”, in The National, retrieved 25 Jan 2016:
2 more examples
  • For the 75 years since a district rebellion was put down, The Games have existed as an assertion of the Capital’s power, a winner-take-all contest that touts heroism and sacrifice—participants are called “tributes”— while pitting the districts against each other.2012, Scott Tobias, “The Hunger Games”, in The A.V. Club:
  • Newspaper articles also were generally positive in tone, although a tendency towards sensationalism means that the spread of hybrid forms is occasionally touted as the universal language of the future.2018, James Lambert, “A multitude of ‘lishes’: The nomenclature of hybridity”, in English World-Wide, page 9:
2

Hobbies, Horse racing, Horseracing, Horses, Lifestyle, Pets, Racing, Sports UK, Slang To spy out information about (a horse, a racing stable, etc.).

3

Hobbies, Horse racing, Horseracing, Horses, Lifestyle, Pets, Racing, Sports US, Slang To give a tip on (a racehorse) to a person, with the expectation of sharing in any winnings.

4

Hobbies, Horse racing, Horseracing, Horses, Lifestyle, Pets, Racing, Sports UK, Slang To spy out the movements of racehorses at their trials, or to get by stealth or other improper means the secrets of the stable, for betting purposes.

5

Hobbies, Horse racing, Horseracing, Horses, Lifestyle, Pets, Racing, Sports US, Slang To act as a tout; to give a tip on a racehorse.

6

To look for, try to obtain; used with for.

  • To understand the new London, I lived it. I slept rough with Roma beggars and touted for work with Baltic laborers on the kerb.March 1, 2016, Ben Judah on BBC Business Daily
7

Obsolete To look upon or watch.

  • Nor durst Orcanes view the Soldan's face, / But still upon the floor did pore and tout.1600, Edward Fairfax, The Jerusalem Delivered of Tasso, X, lvi
Synonyms
pimp, pitch, promote, spruik
Derived terms
overtout, touter

tout

noun

Etymology Probably from French tout (“all”).

1

Card games, Games In the game of solo, a proposal to win all eight tricks.

Related terms
tout court, mangetout, tout ensemble

Entry derived from the Wiktionary, under licence CC BY-SA 4.0 — list of authors.

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