American infantrymen, particularly soldiers of World War I; the term became an iconic descriptor for the U.S. military.
Origin debated: possibly from dough's association with bread rations, or from the white pipe-clay used on soldiers' uniforms that resembled dough. The term solidified during WWI.
Doughboy became the quintessential WWI soldier identity—the term is so bound up with the Great War that when people think of American soldiers in 1917-1918, they still picture Doughboys in their distinctive helmets.
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