Doll Began as a Nickname for Dorothy
A doll is a child's model figure. The word started as a pet form of a personal name.
A doll is a small model of a human figure, usually a child's toy. The word is a pet form of *Dorothy*, used as a generic name for a girl and then transferred to the toy in the 1700s. English has done this repeatedly: *jack*, *jenny*, *robin* and *billy* all began as personal names before becoming ordinary nouns. *Dolled up* meaning dressed smartly is American, from the 1900s, and *doll's house* is a British spelling of what Americans call a dollhouse.
- A child's figure. *A rag doll.*
- An attractive person (dated). *She is a doll.*
- Dolled up — dressed smartly. *All dolled up.*
- Dorothy — the source name. *Dorothy.*
- From the 1700s. *The toy sense.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | doll | A doll. |
| Plural | dolls | Dolls. |
| Verb | doll | Dolled up. |
| Compound | doll's house | A doll's house. |
| Source | Dorothy | Dorothy. |
- She carried a cloth doll.Toy.
- They were all dolled up.Idiom.
- It comes from Dorothy.Etymology.
Names that became nouns
- Doll — from Dorothy
- Jack — from John, giving jack plug, car jack and jackdaw
- Jenny — a female donkey, and the spinning jenny
- Robin — the bird, from Robert
- Billy — a billy goat and a billycan
A pet form of the name *Dorothy*, applied to a toy figure from the 1700s.
Where does the word doll come from?
From Doll, a pet form of Dorothy, used as a generic girl's name and then transferred to the toy in the 1700s.
Which other names became ordinary words?
Jack, jenny, robin and billy all began as personal names before becoming nouns for objects or animals.