manikin

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   a small model or articulated figure representing the human body, especially for medical or artistic study

   The medical student practiced the procedure on a jointed manikin.

2. 2
   noun

   dated: a very small person or a little man

   The old tale describes a fierce manikin who guards the mountain pass.

3. 3
   noun

   a variant spelling of mannequin, especially a figure used to display clothes

   The shopkeeper dressed the manikin in the new winter coat.

Borrowed from Dutch manneken and Middle Dutch mannekijn, diminutive forms meaning "little man." It is a doublet of mannequin, which entered through French, and manakin, the bird name. The variant mannikin preserves the same diminutive history.

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