Informal plural of 'doggy' or 'doggie,' a childish or affectionate way of referring to dogs.
From 'dog' plus the diminutive suffix '-ie' or '-y' (which makes words sound smaller or more affectionate), as in 'puppy,' 'kitty,' or 'birdie.' This baby-talk style of creating diminutives has been used in English for centuries.
Every language has special 'baby word' versions for animals—English has 'doggies' and 'kitties,' Japanese has 'wanwan' and 'nyaon,' and linguists call this 'motherese,' suggesting that cute-ifying words is a universal human instinct when we talk to or about things we love.
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