doughboy

[ doh-boi ]
/ ˈdoʊˌbɔɪ /
SEE SYNONYMS FOR doughboy ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

Informal. an American infantryman, especially in World War I.
a rounded mass of dough, boiled or steamed as a dumpling or deep-fried and served as a hot bread.

Origin of doughboy

1675–85; dough + boy; sense “infantryman,” from mid-1860s, is obscurely derived; two plausible, but unsubstantiated claims: doughboy orig. referred to the globular brass buttons on infantry uniforms, likened to the pastry; dough referred to a clay used to clean the white uniform belts

Words nearby doughboy

doug, dough, dough bird, dough hook, doughbelly, doughboy, doughboys, dougherty wagon, doughface, doughfoot, doughnut

Words related to doughboy

doughboys, serviceperson

Example sentences from the Web for doughboy

British Dictionary definitions for doughboy

doughboy
/ (ˈdəʊˌbɔɪ) /

noun

US informal an infantryman, esp in World War I
dough that is boiled or steamed as a dumpling