Doll

How to spell doll

4 letters · 1 syllable

How to pronounce doll

What does doll mean?

1. nounA small model of a human figure, used as a child's toy.
2. nounA generous, kind, or helpful person (informal and affectionate).

Doll in a sentence

• The little girl carried her favourite doll everywhere.

• Be a doll and pass me the salt while you are up.

• A porcelain doll sat on the shelf in the antique shop.

• The nurse was an absolute doll throughout his long recovery.

Where does doll come from?

Language of origin: Other

This word began life as a nickname rather than a thing: in the mid 1500s 'Doll' was a familiar pet form of the woman's name Dorothy, in the same way that 'Hal' stands in for Harry. By the 1600s it had drifted into a general affectionate, and sometimes dismissive, word for a girl or sweetheart. The modern meaning, a small model of a person used as a child's toy, took hold in the early 1700s, the name of the playmate transferring neatly to the plaything. Later still the verb phrase 'to doll up', meaning to dress smartly, grew out of the idea of decking out a doll in fine clothes. The spelling is mercifully short and phonetic, its only real trap being the doubled letter 'l' at the end, which it keeps even though a single 'l' would sound the same.

How the word is built

• doll (originally a pet form of the name Dorothy, no analysable prefix or suffix)

Words that sound like doll

They sound the same but mean different things, so the meaning decides which spelling to write.

• dal: A South Asian dish of split pulses such as lentils, simmered and spiced into a thick stew.