An alternative or archaic spelling of 'dummy'; a stupid person or a doll-like figure used for display or practice.
Variant spelling of 'dummy,' which comes from 'dumb' plus '-y' suffix; 'dumby' represents an older or dialectal spelling pattern.
This spelling shows how words were more flexible in spelling before dictionaries standardized them—'dumby' and 'dummy' were interchangeable, but 'dummy' won out, making 'dumby' feel charmingly old-fashioned.
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