Liberal Dictionary English Dictionary
doyley [doi-lee] Examples noun, plural doy·leys.
doily or doy·ley [doi-lee] noun, plural doi·lies.
- any small, ornamental mat, as of embroidery or lace.
- Archaic. a small napkin, as one used during a dessert course.
Origin of doily First recorded in 1670–80; named after a London draper of the late 17th century Examples from the Web for doyley Historical Examples of doyley
The constable looked grave, too, when he saw the knife and the doyley.
Mabel Quiller-Couch
How can a legal contract be like a doyley on the back of a chair?
Rose Macaulay
The soldier, afterwards boasting that he had won this trophy, was reproved by Doyley, who had seen the action.
The History of England in Three Volumes, Vol.I., Part E.
David Hume
Whin the ould sow litters, Doyley, it’s sore perplexhed we’ll be fer shlapin’ room.
Tin-Types Taken in the Streets of New York
Lemuel Ely Quigg
Bloom bent leopold ear, turning a fringe of doyley down under the vase.
James Joyce
British Dictionary definitions for doyley doyley noun
- a variant spelling of doily
doily doyley or doyly noun plural -lies or -leys
- a decorative mat of lace or lacelike paper, etc, laid on or under plates
Word Origin for doily C18: named after Doily, a London draper Word Origin and History for doyley doily n.
1714, short for doily-napkin (1711), from doily “thin, woolen fabric;” supposedly from Doiley, surname of a 17c.-early 18c. dry-goods dealer on London’s Strand. Doily earlier meant “genteel, affordable woolens” (1670s), evidently from the same source. The surname is d’Ouilly, from one of several places called Ouilly in Normandy.