真的小鴨（小孩子的說法）
這一家離核心畫面最近：字面上就是那隻小鴨，沒有任何比喻。
noun · B1
A duck, in the way small children and adults talking to small children say it — and especially a small yellow toy duck that floats in the bath. The source marks this use as childish.
小鴨鴨
核心畫面
Think of duck with a soft ending stuck on it. The easiest picture to hold is a small yellow duck: round, light, harmless, and slightly funny to look at. That ending, -y, is the same one in kitty and doggy, and it makes whatever it touches sound smaller and friendlier. The supplied source splits the word into two — one from the bird on the water, one from duck used as a pet name for a person — but both leave the same taste behind: small, soft, and easy to like.
ducky 可以想成 duck 加上 -y 這條軟軟的尾巴。最好抓的畫面是一隻黃色的小鴨：圓圓的、輕輕的、無害，看了…更多收起
ducky 可以想成 duck 加上 -y 這條軟軟的尾巴。最好抓的畫面是一隻黃色的小鴨：圓圓的、輕輕的、無害，看了會想笑一下。這個 -y 就是 kitty、doggy 裡的那個 -y，碰到什麼，什麼就變小、變親切。來源把這個字分成兩條路：一條從水裡的鴨子來，一條從拿 duck 當暱稱的用法來。兩條路留下的味道其實一樣：小、軟、讓人喜歡。From the word’s history
The supplied source gives several etymology trees, all of them duck + -y: duck the bird plus -y, duck the bird plus the diminutive -y, and duck used as a term of endearment plus the diminutive -y.
來源列了好幾條詞源樹，全都是 duck 加上 -y：一條是「鴨子 + -y」，一條是「鴨子 + 表示小的 -y」，還有一條是「duck（暱稱）+ 表示小的 -y」。所以這個字從頭到尾就是在一個 duck 上加一層「小而親暱」的外衣，只是加在不同意思的 duck 上。
Wiktionary entries for 'ducky' (etymologies 1-4) as supplied in this batch's evidence packet (source_refs kaikki:3f6f69a190036ae4:1288650367 / 1288654045 / 1288657945 / 1288661266)
Three branches
拿來叫人的暱稱
把那隻小鴨的親暱感搬到人身上：不是說對方像鴨子，而是用一個軟軟的小名去叫他。
noun · C1
A friendly word used when speaking straight to someone, in place of their name. The source says it is used especially to a woman or a child.
親愛的（稱呼）
討喜，於是一切都好
同一層「小而可愛」的外衣改貼到東西和情況上：先是東西討喜，再擴大成整個局面都討喜。
adjective · C2
Sweet and charming in a small, amusing way, so that it makes you smile. The source marks it as slang and endearing, and it has an old-fashioned sound; it is used about things like a hat, a flat, or a little skirt.
可愛討喜的