dolly
See also: Dolly
English
Pronunciation
- (General American) IPA(key): /ˈdɑli/
- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˈdɒli/
Audio (AU) (file) - Rhymes: -ɒli
Etymology 1
From doll + -y, from the given name Dorothy, originally applied either to a woman or female pet or to a children's toy, and expanded to refer to various types of contrivances or devices.[1]
Noun
dolly (plural dollies)
- (childish, colloquial) A doll.
- 1867 July 1, S.T.C., “The Harleys of Chelsea Place”, in The Christian Treasury, page 344:
- ‘He pushed one of my dolly’s eyes in,’ sobbed Dora, hugging her dolly as she replied.
-
- A contrivance for stirring:
- A disc with downward legs and a vertical handle, used for agitating laundry.
- Synonym: posser
- 1840, R. White (Auctioneer), Sale at Woodhouse Place, near Mansfield. Catalogue of the valuable and useful household furniture [etc.], Third Day's Sale. Wednesday, November 4th, 1840:
- LAUNDRY.
1 Dolly tub and pegs
2 Mangle
3 Washing machine
- A device turned on a vertical axis by a handle or a winch, giving a circular motion to ore being washed.
- A disc with downward legs and a vertical handle, used for agitating laundry.
- A tool with an indented head for shaping the head of a rivet.
- (Can we find and add a quotation of Knight to this entry?)
- 1864, William Newton, “To Andrew Shanks, of Robert-street, Adelphi, for an improved rivetting machine”, in Newton's London Journal of Arts, page 279:
- A, is the steam or air cylinder for forcing the dolly B, hard against the rivet head while rivetting: when used for making rivets the dolly B, is unshipped, and the rivet heading apparatus substituted.
- In pile driving, a block interposed between the head of the pile and the ram of the driver.
- A small truck with a single wide roller used for moving heavy beams, columns, etc., in bridge building.
- A small truck without steering means to be slipped under a load. (traditional UK artisan usage)
- A compact, narrow-gauge locomotive used for moving construction trains, switching, etc.
- (film) A specialized piece of film equipment resembling a little cart on which a camera is mounted.
- (slang) A young woman, especially one who is frivolous or vapid. [from 1790s][2]
- 1978, John McGrath, Yobbo nowt, page 39:
- But really you get your money from selling things — that's your line, and your Dad's isn't it? Using sexy dollies to con money out of people who've had to work for it. Well my daughter's not just a sugar-plum fairy to titillate men's fantasies, you know.
- 1996, Billboard (number 45, page 24)
- This glorious collection should be passed around clubland as a textbook study in making a seamless transition from being a disco dolly to a serious pop vocalist.
-
- (slang, Britain, dated) A fashionable young woman, one who follows the latest music or clothing fashions. [1960s]
- 1969 April 8, Prudence Glynn, “246 yards of fashion”, in The Times, page 6:
- Spotlight on the other hand is remarkable for prices and skirt lengths to suit the teenyboppers […] Appeal: to a lunchtime horde of date-going dollies who cannot really afford another dress.
-
- (cricket, dated) A ball hit by a batsman such that it goes gently to a fielder for a simple catch.
Related terms
Descendants
- Welsh: doli
Translations
doll — see doll
contrivance giving a circular motion to ore to be washed
tool for shaping the head of a rivet
pile driving: block between the head of the pile and the ram of the driver
|
small truck
compact, narrow-gauge locomotive
filming: camera cart
|
|
cricket: ball that goes gently to a fielder for a simple catch
See also
- (small truck): hand truck
- (specialized piece of film equipment): tracking shot
Verb
dolly (third-person singular simple present dollies, present participle dollying, simple past and past participle dollied)
Etymology 2
Disputed. Most scholars derive the term from doll + -y, as Etymology 1, above.[3][2] Linguist Ian Hancock, however, suggests derivation from Italian dolce (“sweet”).[4]
Adjective
dolly (comparative more dolly, superlative most dolly)
- (Polari) Pretty; attractive.
- 1967, Bona Bijou Tourettes (Round the Horne), season 3, episode 12, written by Kenneth Horne:
- Divine. Sitting, sipping a tiny drinkette, vadaïng the great butch omis and dolly little palones trolling by, or disporting yourself on the sable plage getting your lallies all bronzed - your riah getting bleached by the soleil.
-
Noun
dolly (plural dollies)
References
- dolly, n.1 Oxford English Dictionary, 1884–1928, and First Supplement, 1933.
- Green, Jonathon (2019) Green's Dictionary of Slang
- John Hajek (1990), “Parlaree: etymologies and notes”, in Spunti e Ricerche
- Hancock, Ian (1984), “Shelta and Polari”, in Peter Trudgill, editor, Languages in the British Isles, pages 384-403
- dolly, n.2 Oxford English Dictionary, 1884–1928, and First Supplement, 1933.
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