Definition

1. Noun:
   • A rounded lump of dough that is deep-fried and served as hot bread: A small, round piece of dough cooked in hot oil, often sweetened and eaten as a simple bread or dessert.
   • An American infantryman in World War I: An informal, often affectionate, term for a U.S. Army foot soldier, particularly during the First World War.

Usage and Examples

• Noun (Fried Dough):
  • The baker made fresh doughboys for breakfast.
  • This recipe for doughboys is similar to that for fried dough.
• Noun (WWI Soldier):
  • Old photographs showed the doughboys in their uniforms.
  • Many doughboys sailed to Europe in 1917.

Advanced Usage

• Historical Context: The term "doughboy" as a soldier is strongly associated with World War I and is rarely used for soldiers of later wars. It evokes a specific historical image.
• Culinary Context: In some regions, "doughboy" can refer specifically to a plain, unfilled fried dough, distinguishing it from a doughnut which typically has a hole or filling.

Variants and Related Words

• Doughnut (noun): A ring-shaped or filled cake of sweet fried dough. The doughboy is considered a simpler predecessor.
• Infantryman (noun): A formal term for a soldier who fights on foot.
• GI (noun): A common term for a U.S. soldier, especially during and after World War II, succeeding "doughboy."

Synonyms

• For the food item: Fried dough, fritter (though fritters often contain fruit or other ingredients).
• For the soldier: Foot soldier, infantryman, GI (for later eras).

Notes on Different Meanings

• The two primary meanings are distinct and belong to different contexts (culinary vs. military history). The connection between them is etymological but not semantic in modern use. One theory suggests the soldier term came from the resemblance of the uniform's buttons to the fried dough cakes.

Noun

1. a rounded lump of dough that is deep-fried and served as hot bread
   • the doughboy was a predecessor of the doughnut
2. an American infantryman in World War I