Etymology From Doll, pet form of the given name Dorothy. Etymology 1, noun sense 7 was coined and popularized by American writer Jacqueline Susann in 1966 through her book Valley of the Dolls (1966) and the film adaptation Valley of the Dolls (1967).
A small figure resembling a human being that is used as a toy.
"A thousand dollars are money, my father used to say when he drove fat oxen to market," replied John Wilde, in a mocking tone; "but it will not leave my hands for that shabby price; and, for my own part, it may ornament the foot of my daughter's doll."1828, Thomas Keightley, The Fairy Mythology, volume I, London: William Harrison Ainsworth, page 316:
Some fine day we may have the country raised, and the gendarmes down upon us from Strasburg, and all owing to your pretty doll, with her cunning ways of coming over you.1861, Elizabeth Gaskell, The Grey Woman:
3
Slang A transgender woman or transfeminine person, especially one that has a highly sexual and feminine personal style.
4
Slang A transgender woman or transfeminine person, in general.
Heading home from a party, two hipsters, completely stoned, pause to snuggle on a park bench. A fire engine roars by, bells clanging, sirens screaming. The boy flips. “Solid, doll,” he murmurs, “they’re playing our song!”1952 September 29, “"BOP VOCABULARY" section, inside of "That Crazy Bop Joke Craze"”, in LIFE Magazine, New York, U.S., page 69:
"They didn't sell cigarettes where you were, doll?" Palmer asked.2008, Stephen King, Willa:
Won't you be a doll and fetch me a glass of water?
Ow! These things are defective. Pipsqueak, be a doll, I need a new pair, pronto!2017, “Skate-lebrity”, in The ZhuZhus, spoken by Chunk:
7
The smallest or pet pig in a litter.
8
Rail transport, Railways, Transport A short signal post mounted on a bracket mounted on the main signal post, or on a signal gantry.
The signals are on a three-doll bracket post; one doll carries two [signal] arms, one above the other.1943 March and April, “Notes and News: Peculiar Distant Signals on L.N.E.R”, in Railway Magazine, page 116:
Each night she looked at the bottle of Seconals with affection. She never could do this without the dolls. She would have spent sleepless nights, smoking, worrying—and she would have lost her nerve.1966, Jacqueline Susann, Valley of the Dolls, page 227:
Etymology From Doll, pet form of the given name Dorothy. Etymology 1, noun sense 7 was coined and popularized by American writer Jacqueline Susann in 1966 through her book Valley of the Dolls (1966) and the film adaptation Valley of the Dolls (1967).
1
Synonym of doll up.
doll
noun
Etymology Probably variant of archaic dool (“boundary marker”).
1
A temporary barrier used in horse racing.
On a beautiful spring morning, after the “dolls and chains” had been removed to allow the horses room to pass through, in galloping “across the flat,” […]1885, William Day, The Racehorse in Training, page 87:
doll
verb
Etymology Probably variant of archaic dool (“boundary marker”).
1
UK To place a barrier in front of (a section of the course that is to be omitted from a horse race).