Meaning

noun an artifact designed to be played with

noun a nonfunctional replica of something else (frequently used as a modifier)

noun a device regarded as providing amusement

originInherited from Middle English toye (“amorous play, piece of fun or entertainment”), probably from Middle Dutch toy, tuyg (“tools, apparatus, utensil, ornament”) as in Dutch speel-tuig (“plaything, toy”), from Old Dutch *tiug, from Proto-West Germanic *tiugī̆, *teug, from Proto-Germanic *teugą (“stuff, matter, device, gear, lever”, literally “that which is drawn or pulled”), from Proto-Germanic…

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 3.0