The term 洋娃娃 (yángwáwa) is a compound noun formed through semantic combination: the morpheme 洋 (yáng), meaning "foreign" or "oceanic" (historically denoting things imported from the West), is attached to the reduplicated word 娃娃 (wáwa), meaning "doll" or "baby". Thus, the compound literally translates to "foreign doll", specifically referring to the Western-style dolls with features like big eyes and fair hair that were introduced to China, differentiating them from traditional local toys. The structure exemplifies a common modifier-head pattern in Chinese, where 洋 describes the origin or style of the 娃娃.