ENGLISH
REFERENCE

mannequin

n. countable
B2 Upper Intermediate US //ˈmænəkɪn// UK //mˈænɪkwˌɪn// man·nequin Archaic

n. a life-sized model of a person used to show clothes in a shop window.

n. a jointed model of the human body used by tailors, dressmakers, and retailers to display or fit clothing.


SIMPLE

The shop window has a mannequin wearing a red dress.

CONTEXTUAL

The visual merchandiser spent the morning dressing every mannequin in the new summer collection to attract customers.

COMPLEX

While early versions were made of wax or wood, the modern mannequin is typically constructed from durable fiberglass to withstand the frequent changes of a retail environment.

Synonyms
Origin

Borrowed from French mannequin, derived from Old French [Term?] (“little man, figurine”), derived from Middle Dutch mannekin (“little man”) or mannekijn (see English manikin), diminutive of man (“man”). By surface analysis, man + -kin. Compare ramequin/ramekin. Doublet of manakin and manikin.

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