Definition

1. Noun:
   • A life-size dummy used to display clothes: A manikin is a full-scale model of the human body, typically used by tailors, dressmakers, or in store windows to exhibit clothing.
   • A person who is very small but who is not otherwise deformed or abnormal: A manikin can refer to a very small person, a dwarf or pygmy, who is proportioned normally aside from their stature.

Examples of Usage

• Noun:
  • The tailor adjusted the suit on the manikin in the shop window.
  • In the anatomy lab, students studied the skeletal structure using a detailed manikin.
  • Folktales sometimes feature a clever manikin who outwits larger opponents.

Advanced Usage

• "Anatomical manikin": A detailed model of the human body or its parts, used for medical or artistic study.
  • The museum's exhibit included an 18th-century anatomical manikin made of wax.

Variants and Related Words

• Mannequin (noun): This is a more common modern spelling, especially for the fashion dummy. It can also refer to a live model.
  • The department store mannequins were dressed in the latest summer fashions.
• Manikin is sometimes used interchangeably with mannequin, though "manikin" is the older form and is still preferred in specific technical contexts like anatomy.

Synonyms

• Dummy: An artificial figure used to display clothes.
• Model: A three-dimensional representation or a person who displays clothes.
• Dwarf: A person of unusually short stature (when referring to the "small person" meaning).

Notes on Different Meanings

• The primary modern meaning is the fashion dummy. The meaning of a very small person is now less common and can be considered archaic or specialized (e.g., in mythology or older literature). In contemporary usage to avoid offense, terms like "person of short stature" are preferred when referring to people.

Noun

1. a life-size dummy used to display clothes
2. a woman who wears clothes to display fashions
   • she was too fat to be a mannequin
3. a person who is very small but who is not otherwise deformed or abnormal