baby doll

noun

1. a doll, especially one resembling a human baby.
2. Often baby dolls. Also called baby doll nightgown, a garment for women or girls consisting of a hip-length top of delicate fabric often decorated with ruffles, ribbons, or lace, with a matching panty, worn for sleeping.
3. a short dress styled to resemble this.

Word History and Origins

Origin of baby doll¹

First recorded in 1860–65

Example Sentences

Over a soundtrack of drab violins, Adams taught concerned guardians how to “IN-spect what you EX-pect,” explaining that a gun could be hidden in a jewelry box or a pillow, a used crack pipe in a “popular knapsack,” bullets behind a picture frame, weed inside a baby doll, and cocaine on a bookshelf.

From Slate

Balenciaga gave us the sack dress, the egg coat, the baby doll and the belief in fashion as a religion.

From New York Times

There was this kind of baby girl, baby doll, sexy kind of cheeky essence little skirts and showing a bit of leg.

From Salon

The best one for the early years, Mr. Wuori often notes, is a simple baby doll.

From New York Times

Since then, the lightweight but surprisingly strong composite has been used to make everything from Egyptian death masks and 19th-century French baby doll heads to American crew racing shells and life-size British soldier decoys, which were deployed to divert German sniper fire in World War I. Today, it’s employed to mimic carved stone and gilded wood in ornamental architecture and furniture, as well as for Mardi Gras floats in New Orleans and Day of the Dead skulls in Mexico.

From New York Times

About This Word

What else does baby doll mean?

In the literal, a baby doll is just that—a toy baby doll.

But it is also a term of endearment for a woman and a style of high-waisted women’s dress and nightgown.

Where does baby doll come from?

Although perpetually young, baby dolls have been seen as far back as the 21st century BCE in the tombs of the Ancient Egyptians. The particular phrase baby doll, though, is recorded in English as early as 1725.

The baby doll dress emerged at the turn of the 20th century. It’s usually high-waisted with a short hemline, featuring short or no sleeves, presumably named because of its youthful appearance which were associated with garments toy baby dolls wore. A nightwear version became popular in the 1940s. On women, the baby doll look can suggest innocence, attractiveness, and even edginess, with 1990s rockers like Courtney Love, Baby Spice, or Babydoll in 2011’s Sucker Punch (Emily Browning) juxtaposing its girlish style with a punk attitude.

Evidenced since the early 1900s, baby doll as a term of endearment likens the object of someone’s affection to the cute toy. Baby doll was quite popular in early 1960s doo-wops with such songs as The Supreme’s 1965 hit “Baby Doll.” It keeps its currency in contemporary tunes, too, if N.E.R.D.’s 2001 “Baby Doll” has anything to say about it.

How is baby doll used in real life?

When not referring to a toy, dress, or negligee, baby doll is most often heard or read as an affectionate term along the lines of sweetheart or honey. But, be mindful that calling a woman you don’t know baby doll can be condescending, dismissive, or wolf-whistling.

i hope you wake up tomorrow with a huge smile on your face i love you goodnight babydolls

— baby (@BabyAriel) June 14, 2018

Note

This content is not meant to be a formal definition of this term. Rather, it is an informal summary that seeks to provide supplemental information and context important to know or keep in mind about the term’s history, meaning, and usage.