Home Games & Quizzes History & Society Science & Tech Biographies Animals & Nature Geography & Travel Arts & Culture Money Videos
toy
toy
Table of Contents
References & Edit History Related Topics
Images & Videos
flying a kite clay model of a wheeled cart Day of the Dead toys kachina dolls toy walking horse entertainment robot
Transforming traditional toys into smart electronics
toy giraffe in cage playing with dolls
For Students
toy summary
Read Next
A beautiful barbie with a long white hair. Stylish doll.
6 Interesting Facts About Barbie
magic 8 ball
Where Did the Idea for the Magic 8 Ball Come From?
A beautiful barbie with a long white hair. Stylish doll.
6 Interesting Facts About Barbie
Discover
Close up of a hand placing a ballot in a ballot box. Election vote voter voting
Have Any U.S. Presidents Decided Not to Run For a Second Term?
Alexander the Great on his deathbed
How Did Alexander the Great Really Die?
Still from the film Deliverance, 1919. The story of Helen Keller and Anne Sullivan. View shows Keller in the cockpit/front seat of an airplane.
How Did Helen Keller Fly a Plane?
Cathedrale St.Jean in Lyon, France has a 14th-century astronomical clock that shows religious feast days till the year 2019; Perpetual Calendar
Ten Days That Vanished: The Switch to the Gregorian Calendar
Chapter 4 pg 42 - Chapter header of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain. Published in 1884 by The American Publishing Company
Periods of American Literature
Marriage. A couple getting married during a church wedding ceremony. (religion, ceremony, bride, groom)
The Seven Sacraments of the Roman Catholic church
Town of Sisimiut located on the coast of the Davis Strait on Kangerluarsunnguaq Bay, Greenland
The Largest Islands in the World
Share
Share to social media
URL
https://www.britannica.com/technology/toy
Share
Share to social media
URL
https://www.britannica.com/technology/toy
Fact-checked by
The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors.
The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Article History
flying a kite
flying a kite
See all media
Category: Arts & Culture
Key People:
Jill E. Barad
Erno Rubik
Related Topics:
kite
playing cards
dice
doll
tangram
See all related content →

toy, plaything, usually for an infant or child, and often an instrument used in a game. Toys, playthings, and games survive from the most remote past and from a great variety of cultures. The ball, kite, and yo-yo are assumed to be the oldest objects specifically designed as toys. Toys vary from the simplest to the most complex things, from the stick selected by a child and imagined to be a hobbyhorse to sophisticated and complex mechanical devices. Coordination and other manual skills develop from cumulative childhood experiences received by manipulating toys such as marbles, jackstones, and other objects that ...(100 of 1310 words)

Access the full article
Help support true facts by becoming a member.