playthings

Noun

plaything (plural playthings)

1. A thing or person intended for playing with.
   • [S]he haſtily retired, taking with her her little Girl, whoſe Eyes were all over blubbered at the melancholy News ſhe heard of Jones, who uſed to call her his little Wife, and not only gave her many Playthings, but ſpent whole Hours in playing with her himſelf.1749, Henry Fielding, “The generous and grateful Behaviour of Mrs. Miller”, in The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling, volume VI, London: A[ndrew] Millar, […], →OCLC, book XVII, page 97

   Synonyms:

   toy

2. A person at the mercy of fate.
   • We talk of our energies and of our will—we are the mere playthings of subtle and malignant chances.1834, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], chapter XXVIII, in Francesca Carrara. […], volume II, London: Richard Bentley, […], (successor to Henry Colburn), →OCLC, page 297

See all 3 meanings of plaything