man·ne·quin (m n -k n)n.1. A life-size full or partial representation of the human body, used for the fitting or displaying of clothes; a dummy. 2. A jointed model of the human body used by artists, especially to demonstrate the arrangement of drapery. Also called lay figure. 3. One who models clothes; a model.
[French, from Old French, little man, figurine, from Middle Dutch mannekijn; see manikin.] Word History: A department store mannequin is often not a man and often not little, yet mannequin goes back to the Middle Dutch word mannekijn, the diminutive form of man, "man, person." As for the size of a mannequin, the Middle Dutch word could mean "dwarf" but in Modern Dutch developed the specialized sense of "an artist's jointed model." This was the sense in which we adopted the word (first recorded in 1570), making it another term like easel and landscape taken over from the terminology of Dutch painters of the time. The word borrowed from Dutch now has the form manikin. We later adopted the French version of the Dutch word as well, giving English mannequin, and this is now the form most commonly encountered and the one commonly used for a department store dummy as well as a live model. |
mannequin Noun
1. a woman who wears the clothes displayed at a fashion show; model
2. a life-size dummy of the human body used to fit or display clothes [French]
ThesaurusLegend: Synonyms Related Words Antonyms
| Noun | 1. | mannequin - a woman who wears clothes to display fashions; "she was too fat to be a mannequin"assistant, helper, help, supporter - a person who contributes to the fulfillment of a need or furtherance of an effort or purpose; "my invaluable assistant"; "they hired additional help to finish the work" supermodel - a fashion model who has attained the status of a celebrity |
| 2. | mannequin - a life-size dummy used to display clothesdummy - a figure representing the human form |
Translations
mannequin [ˈmaenɪkɪn] n (=
dummy) →
maniquí m (=
fashion model);
maniquí m/f
mannequin [ˈmænɪkɪn] n →
mannequin m
mannequin [ˈmænɪkɪn] n (
dummy) →
Schaufensterpuppe f;
mannequin [ˈmænɪkɪn] n (=
dummy) →
manichino (=
fashion model);
indossatrice f