Trottladoll

Whether you find trottladoll silly, haunting, or useful, try saying it aloud. Let it trot across your tongue. It has been waiting for you.

Another path: from the Swedish trott (tired, weary) and docka (doll). A “tired doll”—the plaything left in the rain, the forgotten toy at the bottom of the chest, its painted smile worn thin. trottladoll

One possibility: a corruption of the German Trottelpuppe (“stumbling doll”)—a weighted doll that rights itself when pushed. Over time and across dialects, Trottel- (foolish or clumsy) could slur into trottla- , entering English through Pennsylvania Dutch communities. The doll that always gets back up. Whether you find trottladoll silly, haunting, or useful,