doll [M16th] Doll started life as a pet form of the name Dorothy, and a doll was originally a man’s ‘pet’ or lover. The sense ‘small model of a human figure’ dates from the late 17th century—before this time people used poppet or puppet (see pup) to refer to the child’s toy. The sense ‘attractive girl’ is US slang from the 1840s. See also babe, dame. Dolly was being used as a pet form of doll by the late 18th century and dolly tub meaning ‘washtub for clothes’ [L19th] is based on a dialect use of dolly as a term for various things thought to resemble a doll in some way. Here the dolly was a short wooden pole for stirring the washing.