Word.ws English Dictionary

doolie

doolie is the alternative form of dooly.

Meaning of dooly

Noun

dooly (plural doolies)

  1. (India, historical) A basic Indian litter or sedan chair made of poles, ropes, and a seat or cloth.
    • The dhulí is a slight bamboo framework covered with coarse cloth, about two and a half feet square, with a bedding made of string woven across, on which the passenger sits. It is slung on a stout bamboo pole, and carried by two or four men.1877, D. B. Allen et al., “A Statistical Account of Bengal”, in Districts of Gayá and Sháhábád, volume 12, pages 81-82
  2. (India, archaic) Synonym of stretcher, a basic litter used for transport of the ill and injured.
    • He also, in conjunction with Private John Ryan, rushed into the street under a heavy fire, and took Captain Arnold, 1st Madras Fusiliers, out of a dooly, and brought him into the house, that officer being again hit while they were so doing.1863, W.H.G. Kingston, Our Soldiers
    Synonyms:
    stretcher
  3. (India, obsolete) Synonym of litter of whatever type.
    Synonyms:
    litter of whatever type

See all 4 meanings of dooly

Noun

doolie (plural doolies)

  1. (US) A first-year student at the United States Air Force Academy; a cadet freshman.

Forms of doolie

pluraldoolies

Origin of doolie

Origin unclear. One theory is that it originates from the word duly, as in “duly appointed [a cadet]” (part of the official acceptance). Another claims that the term is derived from Ancient Greek δοῦλος (doûlos, “slave”) + -ie. Apparently dates to the first class of the Academy, in 1955.

Words that rhyme with doolie

20 more rhymesFewer rhymes

Questions about doolie

What does doolie mean?
Doolie means a first-year student at the United States Air Force Academy; a cadet freshman.
What is doolie the alternative form of?
Doolie is the alternative form of dooly.
What part of speech is doolie?
Doolie is a noun.
What is the plural of doolie?
The plural of doolie is doolies.

Words near doolie in the dictionary

  1. doolee
  2. doolees
  3. dooles
  4. dooley
  5. dooleys
  6. doolie
  7. doolies
  8. dooligah
  9. dooligahs
  10. Doolin
  11. Dooling

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: doolie (page history and authors); dooly (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Cite this entry: “doolie.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/doolie. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.