dollhouse
dollhouse Lexical Profile
dollhouse Game Scores & Validity
• noun
North American A miniature toy house designed for children to play with, typically containing proportionately small furniture and inhabited by dolls.
"The children spent hours carefully arranging the tiny wooden chairs in the parlor of the dollhouse."
A real human dwelling that is unusually small, quaint, or meticulously decorated, resembling a miniature toy.
"They bought a charming little dollhouse in the historic district, complete with a tiny picket fence."
Word Nuance & Usage
In British and Commonwealth English, this word is traditionally written as the phrase 'doll's house', whereas 'dollhouse' is the standard single-word compound in North American English.
Word Origin & Etymology
A compound of 'doll' and 'house'. Miniature homes originated in 16th-century Europe as 'baby houses' or 'cabinet houses' for adults, but the specific term 'dollhouse' emerged in mid-19th century American English as they became mass-produced children's toys.
Usage Trend
Historical frequency of usage in published text.