See dobby on Wiktionary
{
"etymology_text": "From Dobby. Sense “household ghost” from Dob, variant of Rob.",
"forms": [
{
"form": "dobbies",
"tags": [
"plural"
]
},
{
"form": "dobbie",
"tags": [
"alternative"
]
}
],
"head_templates": [
{
"args": {
"1": "~"
},
"expansion": "dobby (countable and uncountable, plural dobbies)",
"name": "en-noun"
}
],
"lang": "English",
"lang_code": "en",
"pos": "noun",
"senses": [
{
"categories": [
{
"kind": "other",
"langcode": "en",
"name": "Weaving",
"orig": "en:Weaving",
"parents": [],
"source": "w"
},
{
"_dis": "41 3 2 4 50",
"kind": "other",
"name": "Pages with 1 entry",
"parents": [],
"source": "w+disamb"
},
{
"_dis": "44 3 2 3 48",
"kind": "other",
"name": "Pages with entries",
"parents": [],
"source": "w+disamb"
}
],
"glosses": [
"A device in some looms that allows the weaving of small geometric patterns."
],
"id": "en-dobby-en-noun-en:device",
"links": [
[
"weaving",
"weaving#Noun"
],
[
"loom",
"loom"
],
[
"weaving",
"weave"
],
[
"geometric",
"geometric"
],
[
"pattern",
"pattern"
]
],
"raw_glosses": [
"(weaving) A device in some looms that allows the weaving of small geometric patterns."
],
"senseid": [
"en:device"
],
"tags": [
"countable",
"uncountable"
],
"topics": [
"business",
"manufacturing",
"textiles",
"weaving"
]
},
{
"categories": [
{
"kind": "other",
"langcode": "en",
"name": "Textiles",
"orig": "en:Textiles",
"parents": [],
"source": "w"
}
],
"glosses": [
"The patterns so woven, or the fabric containing the patterns."
],
"id": "en-dobby-en-noun-en:fabric",
"links": [
[
"textiles",
"textiles"
]
],
"raw_glosses": [
"(textiles) The patterns so woven, or the fabric containing the patterns."
],
"senseid": [
"en:fabric"
],
"tags": [
"countable",
"uncountable"
],
"topics": [
"business",
"manufacturing",
"textiles"
]
},
{
"categories": [
{
"kind": "other",
"langcode": "en",
"name": "Mythological creatures",
"orig": "en:Mythological creatures",
"parents": [],
"source": "w"
},
{
"_dis": "21 16 28 19 16",
"kind": "other",
"langcode": "en",
"name": "Ghosts",
"orig": "en:Ghosts",
"parents": [],
"source": "w+disamb"
}
],
"examples": [
{
"bold_text_offsets": [
[
184,
190
]
],
"ref": "1817 December 31 (indicated as 1818), [Walter Scott], Rob Roy. […], volume I, Edinburgh: […] James Ballantyne and Co. for Archibald Constable and Co. […]; London: Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brown, →OCLC:",
"text": "He understood Greek, Latin, and Hebrew; and, therefore, according to the apprehension, and in the phrase of his brother Wilfred, needed not to care “for ghaist or bar-ghaist, devil or dobbie.”",
"type": "quotation"
},
{
"bold_text_offsets": [
[
135,
140
]
],
"ref": "1871, Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu, The Haunted Baronet:",
"text": "'Twas no livin' woman, for she couldn't rise that height above the water, as they well knew when they came to think; and knew it was a dobby they saw; and ye may be sure they didn't spare prayer and blessin', and went on their course straight before the wind; […].",
"type": "quotation"
}
],
"glosses": [
"An evil or mischievous fairy or ghost sometimes said to haunt a building or household."
],
"id": "en-dobby-en-noun-hCP3Q-qe",
"links": [
[
"mythology",
"mythology"
],
[
"fairy",
"fairy"
],
[
"ghost",
"ghost"
],
[
"haunt",
"haunt"
],
[
"household",
"household"
]
],
"raw_glosses": [
"(mythology) An evil or mischievous fairy or ghost sometimes said to haunt a building or household."
],
"tags": [
"countable",
"uncountable"
],
"topics": [
"human-sciences",
"mysticism",
"mythology",
"philosophy",
"sciences"
]
},
{
"categories": [],
"glosses": [
"A dotard."
],
"id": "en-dobby-en-noun-KFSXQP2w",
"links": [
[
"dotard",
"dotard"
]
],
"raw_glosses": [
"(archaic) A dotard."
],
"synonyms": [
{
"word": "dodipole"
},
{
"word": "mimmerkin"
},
{
"source": "Thesaurus:dotard",
"tags": [
"archaic"
],
"word": "dobby"
},
{
"source": "Thesaurus:dotard",
"tags": [
"derogatory",
"obsolete"
],
"word": "dodipole"
},
{
"source": "Thesaurus:dotard",
"word": "dotard"
},
{
"source": "Thesaurus:dotard",
"tags": [
"obsolete"
],
"word": "dote"
},
{
"source": "Thesaurus:dotard",
"tags": [
"obsolete"
],
"word": "dotel"
},
{
"source": "Thesaurus:dotard",
"word": "doter"
},
{
"source": "Thesaurus:dotard",
"tags": [
"UK",
"dialectal"
],
"word": "dottle"
},
{
"source": "Thesaurus:dotard",
"tags": [
"obsolete"
],
"word": "mimmerkin"
}
],
"tags": [
"archaic",
"countable",
"uncountable"
]
},
{
"categories": [
{
"kind": "other",
"name": "Nottinghamshire English",
"parents": [],
"source": "w"
},
{
"kind": "other",
"langcode": "en",
"name": "Games",
"orig": "en:Games",
"parents": [],
"source": "w"
},
{
"_dis": "39 5 3 5 48",
"kind": "other",
"name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
"parents": [],
"source": "w+disamb"
},
{
"_dis": "41 3 2 4 50",
"kind": "other",
"name": "Pages with 1 entry",
"parents": [],
"source": "w+disamb"
},
{
"_dis": "44 3 2 3 48",
"kind": "other",
"name": "Pages with entries",
"parents": [],
"source": "w+disamb"
},
{
"_dis": "0 0 0 0 100",
"kind": "other",
"langcode": "en",
"name": "People",
"orig": "en:People",
"parents": [],
"source": "w+disamb"
}
],
"glosses": [
"The children's game of tag."
],
"id": "en-dobby-en-noun-EX~ewhjq",
"links": [
[
"games",
"game#Noun"
],
[
"tag",
"tag"
]
],
"qualifier": "chiefly Nottinghamshire",
"raw_glosses": [
"(uncountable, chiefly Nottinghamshire, games) The children's game of tag."
],
"tags": [
"uncountable"
],
"topics": [
"games"
]
}
],
"sounds": [
{
"audio": "LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-dobby.wav",
"mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/3/3d/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-dobby.wav/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-dobby.wav.mp3",
"ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/3/3d/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-dobby.wav/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-dobby.wav.ogg",
"tags": [
"Southern-England"
]
},
{
"rhymes": "-ɒbi"
}
],
"word": "dobby"
}
{
"categories": [
"English countable nouns",
"English entries with incorrect language header",
"English lemmas",
"English nouns",
"English uncountable nouns",
"Pages with 1 entry",
"Pages with entries",
"Rhymes:English/ɒbi",
"Rhymes:English/ɒbi/2 syllables",
"en:Ghosts",
"en:People"
],
"etymology_text": "From Dobby. Sense “household ghost” from Dob, variant of Rob.",
"forms": [
{
"form": "dobbies",
"tags": [
"plural"
]
},
{
"form": "dobbie",
"tags": [
"alternative"
]
}
],
"head_templates": [
{
"args": {
"1": "~"
},
"expansion": "dobby (countable and uncountable, plural dobbies)",
"name": "en-noun"
}
],
"lang": "English",
"lang_code": "en",
"pos": "noun",
"senses": [
{
"categories": [
"en:Weaving"
],
"glosses": [
"A device in some looms that allows the weaving of small geometric patterns."
],
"links": [
[
"weaving",
"weaving#Noun"
],
[
"loom",
"loom"
],
[
"weaving",
"weave"
],
[
"geometric",
"geometric"
],
[
"pattern",
"pattern"
]
],
"raw_glosses": [
"(weaving) A device in some looms that allows the weaving of small geometric patterns."
],
"senseid": [
"en:device"
],
"tags": [
"countable",
"uncountable"
],
"topics": [
"business",
"manufacturing",
"textiles",
"weaving"
]
},
{
"categories": [
"en:Textiles"
],
"glosses": [
"The patterns so woven, or the fabric containing the patterns."
],
"links": [
[
"textiles",
"textiles"
]
],
"raw_glosses": [
"(textiles) The patterns so woven, or the fabric containing the patterns."
],
"senseid": [
"en:fabric"
],
"tags": [
"countable",
"uncountable"
],
"topics": [
"business",
"manufacturing",
"textiles"
]
},
{
"categories": [
"English terms with quotations",
"en:Mythological creatures"
],
"examples": [
{
"bold_text_offsets": [
[
184,
190
]
],
"ref": "1817 December 31 (indicated as 1818), [Walter Scott], Rob Roy. […], volume I, Edinburgh: […] James Ballantyne and Co. for Archibald Constable and Co. […]; London: Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brown, →OCLC:",
"text": "He understood Greek, Latin, and Hebrew; and, therefore, according to the apprehension, and in the phrase of his brother Wilfred, needed not to care “for ghaist or bar-ghaist, devil or dobbie.”",
"type": "quotation"
},
{
"bold_text_offsets": [
[
135,
140
]
],
"ref": "1871, Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu, The Haunted Baronet:",
"text": "'Twas no livin' woman, for she couldn't rise that height above the water, as they well knew when they came to think; and knew it was a dobby they saw; and ye may be sure they didn't spare prayer and blessin', and went on their course straight before the wind; […].",
"type": "quotation"
}
],
"glosses": [
"An evil or mischievous fairy or ghost sometimes said to haunt a building or household."
],
"links": [
[
"mythology",
"mythology"
],
[
"fairy",
"fairy"
],
[
"ghost",
"ghost"
],
[
"haunt",
"haunt"
],
[
"household",
"household"
]
],
"raw_glosses": [
"(mythology) An evil or mischievous fairy or ghost sometimes said to haunt a building or household."
],
"tags": [
"countable",
"uncountable"
],
"topics": [
"human-sciences",
"mysticism",
"mythology",
"philosophy",
"sciences"
]
},
{
"categories": [
"English terms with archaic senses"
],
"glosses": [
"A dotard."
],
"links": [
[
"dotard",
"dotard"
]
],
"raw_glosses": [
"(archaic) A dotard."
],
"synonyms": [
{
"word": "dodipole"
},
{
"word": "mimmerkin"
},
{
"source": "Thesaurus:dotard",
"tags": [
"archaic"
],
"word": "dobby"
},
{
"source": "Thesaurus:dotard",
"tags": [
"derogatory",
"obsolete"
],
"word": "dodipole"
},
{
"source": "Thesaurus:dotard",
"word": "dotard"
},
{
"source": "Thesaurus:dotard",
"tags": [
"obsolete"
],
"word": "dote"
},
{
"source": "Thesaurus:dotard",
"tags": [
"obsolete"
],
"word": "dotel"
},
{
"source": "Thesaurus:dotard",
"word": "doter"
},
{
"source": "Thesaurus:dotard",
"tags": [
"UK",
"dialectal"
],
"word": "dottle"
},
{
"source": "Thesaurus:dotard",
"tags": [
"obsolete"
],
"word": "mimmerkin"
}
],
"tags": [
"archaic",
"countable",
"uncountable"
]
},
{
"categories": [
"English uncountable nouns",
"Nottinghamshire English",
"en:Games"
],
"glosses": [
"The children's game of tag."
],
"links": [
[
"games",
"game#Noun"
],
[
"tag",
"tag"
]
],
"qualifier": "chiefly Nottinghamshire",
"raw_glosses": [
"(uncountable, chiefly Nottinghamshire, games) The children's game of tag."
],
"tags": [
"uncountable"
],
"topics": [
"games"
]
}
],
"sounds": [
{
"audio": "LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-dobby.wav",
"mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/3/3d/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-dobby.wav/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-dobby.wav.mp3",
"ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/3/3d/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-dobby.wav/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-dobby.wav.ogg",
"tags": [
"Southern-England"
]
},
{
"rhymes": "-ɒbi"
}
],
"word": "dobby"
}
Download raw JSONL data for dobby meaning in All languages combined (4.5kB)
This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable All languages combined dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2026-06-15 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2026-06-01 using wiktextract (03da280 and 7f4db16). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.
If you use this data in academic research, please cite Tatu Ylonen: Wiktextract: Wiktionary as Machine-Readable Structured Data, Proceedings of the 13th Conference on Language Resources and Evaluation (LREC), pp. 1317-1325, Marseille, 20-25 June 2022. Linking to the relevant page(s) under https://kaikki.org would also be greatly appreciated.