TODD. TOD. An archaic and provincial name of the fox. The expression " wily tod " occurs in the writings of Wickliffe, and the word is made use of by B. Jonson. Before fox-hunting became a fashionable sport, and when churchwardens, acting under the Statute of 2-1. Hen. VIII., were accustomed to pay " xijd. for the head of every foxe," a class of men gained a precarious livelihood by hunting foxes and lesser A'ermin, and obtained the designations Todhunter and Todman, both of which have become well-known sui'names.

Lower, Mark A (1860) Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United Kingdom. London: J.R. Smith. Public Domain.