doily
or doy·ley
[doi-lee]
- any small, ornamental mat, as of embroidery or lace.
- Archaic. a small napkin, as one used during a dessert course.
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Origin of doily
First recorded in 1670–80; named after a London draper of the late 17th century
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for doily
Contemporary Examples
Somebody has to draw the line, and if it takes a 90-pound Jewish grandmother bedecked in a doily to do it, so be it.
Historical Examples
A bowl half-full of water is placed upon a plate covered with a doily.
The Etiquette of To-dayEdith B. Ordway
As represented this doily is about three-fourths of its actual size.
The Art of Modern Lace MakingThe Butterick Publishing Co.
The cakes should be prettily arranged in a cake dish with a doily under them.
Social LifeMaud C. Cooke
Remove the glass and doily; put it in front of your plate a little to the right.
The Complete BachelorWalter Germain
Grass table-mats are also used, but always under cloth or doily.
The Myrtle Reed Cook BookMyrtle Reed
doily
doyley or doyly
- a decorative mat of lace or lacelike paper, etc, laid on or under plates
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Word Origin
C18: named after Doily, a London draper
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for 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.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper