808: doll Feb 23, 2017
There are lots of ways in which new terms are created, one of which is from nicknames. For instance, what does the word 'doll make you think of?
The word 'doll' actually came around in the mid 16th century as a term meaning, 'mistress' given from the nickname for the name 'Dorothy'. There are plenty more ways in which this word is used, even when it isn't referring to horse-racing (which has a different etymology). The meanings that this word took on, such as "kind or thoughtful person" or just a young woman are senses used almost exclusively in North America and are therefore less of an overarching, English-language standard. Nevertheless, even more popular ones like the verbal phrase "dolled up", which also diverged somewhat from this original meaning, retained some relation in terms of connotations of 'mistress'. Meanwhile, it took over a hundred years for the meaning of the doll as a toy or a small model to come about after the initial sense of 'mistress'; this keeps less of the initial sense of the word, but it is now the most common way it is used.
For the history of 'mistress, click here.
For more on dolls (the toy), click here.
The word 'doll' actually came around in the mid 16th century as a term meaning, 'mistress' given from the nickname for the name 'Dorothy'. There are plenty more ways in which this word is used, even when it isn't referring to horse-racing (which has a different etymology). The meanings that this word took on, such as "kind or thoughtful person" or just a young woman are senses used almost exclusively in North America and are therefore less of an overarching, English-language standard. Nevertheless, even more popular ones like the verbal phrase "dolled up", which also diverged somewhat from this original meaning, retained some relation in terms of connotations of 'mistress'. Meanwhile, it took over a hundred years for the meaning of the doll as a toy or a small model to come about after the initial sense of 'mistress'; this keeps less of the initial sense of the word, but it is now the most common way it is used.
For the history of 'mistress, click here.
For more on dolls (the toy), click here.
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