[S]he haſtily retired, taking with her her little Girl, whoſe Eyes were all over blubbered at the melancholy News ſhe heard of Jones, who uſed to call her his little Wife, and not only gave her many Playthings, but ſpent whole Hours in playing with her himſelf.1749, Henry Fielding, “The generous and grateful Behaviour of Mrs. Miller”, in The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling, volume VI, London: A[ndrew] Millar, […], →OCLC, book XVII, page 97:
1856: Gustave Flaubert, Madame Bovary, Part III Chapter XI, translated by Eleanor Marx-Aveling The next day Charles had the child brought back. She asked for her mamma. They told her she was away; that she would bring her back some playthings.
1 more example
O Lord of seven skies, whose plaything is the thunder, thou art amongst the gods, what need hast thou for words from any man?1905, Lord Dunsany [i.e., Edward Plunkett, 18th Baron of Dunsany], The Gods of Pegāna, London: [Charles] Elkin Mathews, […], →OCLC, page 74:
2
A person at the mercy of fate.
We talk of our energies and of our will—we are the mere playthings of subtle and malignant chances.1834, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], chapter XXVIII, in Francesca Carrara. […], volume II, London: Richard Bentley, […], (successor to Henry Colburn), →OCLC, page 297:
plaything
adj
Etymology From play + thing.
1
Used for the purpose of play or amusement.
Like the cards which form a child's plaything palace, our pleasures are nicely balanced one upon the other.1831, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], chapter II, in Romance and Reality. […], volume III, London: Henry Colburn and Richard Bentley, […], →OCLC, page 17: