Definition

1. Noun:
   • A life-size dummy used to display clothes: A mannikin is a full-scale model of the human body, typically used in stores or by designers to exhibit clothing and fashion items.
   • A woman who wears clothes to display fashions: A mannikin can also refer to a female model whose job is to wear and show new clothing designs to potential buyers or audiences.
   • A person who is very small but who is not otherwise deformed or abnormal: In a specialized context, a mannikin is a very small person of proportionate stature, not affected by dwarfism or other growth disorders.

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • The store window featured a mannikin wearing the latest summer collection.
  • She worked as a mannikin for a famous Parisian fashion house.
  • In some historical contexts, a court's entertainer might have been a mannikin.

Advanced Usage

• "Fashion mannikin": Specifically denotes a dummy or a live model used in the fashion industry.
  • The designer adjusted the dress on the fashion mannikin.

Variants and Related Words

• Mannequin (n): The more common modern spelling for the dummy or model senses.
  • The mannequins in the display were arranged in a dramatic pose.
• Manikin (n): An alternative spelling.
• Model (n): A broader term for a person who poses to display clothing or other products.

Synonyms

• Dummy: For the inanimate display figure.
• Model: For the person displaying clothes.
• Puppet: Sometimes used figuratively, but implies control by others.

Related Phrases

• Live mannikin: A person employed to model clothes by wearing them, often in a static display.
  • The event used live mannikins to create a living store window.

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