A thing to play with; can be literal (a toy) or figurative (someone treated as a plaything).
The child wouldn't let go of the toy.
He treated her as a mere plaything.
Standard kanji spelling.
Mixed kana-kanji spelling; less common but still encountered.
Irregular okurigana usage; the reading is not obvious from the spelling.
Compound of 弄び (もてあそび, 'playing with') + 物 (もの, 'thing'). The exact historical derivation is uncertain.