A light stretcher or portable bed-like carrier used in India for transporting people, especially the sick or injured, typically carried by servants on their shoulders.
From Hindi ढोली (ḍholī), likely derived from Sanskrit, the word entered English during the British colonial period in India. The root may be connected to 'dhole' meaning to carry or transport.
This word is a perfect snapshot of colonial-era India—it represents how British colonizers adopted Indian transportation methods and then documented them in English. The dhooly was such an important part of Indian society that English speakers in India simply borrowed the word wholesale rather than translating it.
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