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mannequin

Etymology and origin of the French word mannequin

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French mannequin
English mannequin

The Robert dictionaries and Littré distinguish mannequin “figure, dummy, model”, from Middle Dutch mannekijn “little man”, and mannequin “small basket”, from Middle Dutch mandekijn through manne.[1][2][3]

mannequin1 figure, model

Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
c. 1450
Borrowed from
Middle Dutch mannekijn
Ultimate origin
Middle Dutch (mannekijn)

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /man.kɛ̃/[4]

Forms

mannequin m (plural mannequins)[4]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Middle Dutch mannekijn (“little man; little doll”),[5][6][1][7] formed with the diminutive suffix “-kijn” (English “-kin”, German “-chen”) on “man” “man”, which has cognates in all the Germanic languages (English man, German Mann) and belongs to the same Indo-European root as Sanskrit “mánu-” “man”.[6][2] Compare Walloon “maniké” “little fellow”.[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

A document of about 1450 in the archives of the Nord has it for a figurine;[5][6] Jean Molinet (third quarter of the 15th century) also uses it for “little man”.[5]

Semantic evolution

In the 15th and 16th centuries it was a figure of wood or wax, or a sculpted figure of man or beast (Ung petit manequin tirant une espine hors de son pied).[6][3] From 1614–1671 it was an articulated figure used by painters and sculptors as a model and to try draperies on, whence the figurative “spineless person who can be led at will” (1776, Chateaubriand, 1797).[5][6] In 1806 it was a dressmaker's dummy, and in the 19th century the dressed figure in a shop window.[5][6][2]

By extension it named men on whom clothes were tried (1814) and then women (1862–1865, Goncourt), and in the 20th century the women, and, from about 1950 the men, who show haute couture collections, taille mannequin comes from either sense.[5][6][8] The word stays masculine even of a woman, though une mannequin is found.[9] English took mannequin in 1898, after the older manikin.[10]

Timeline

  • c. 1450 – A figurine.[5]
  • Third quarter of the 15th century – “Little man”, in Molinet.[5]
  • 1671 – An artist's lay figure.[5]
  • 1776 – A spineless person.[6]
  • 1806 – A dressmaker's dummy.[5]
  • 1814 – A male fashion model.[5]
  • 1865 – A female model, in the Goncourts.[5]
  • 1898 – English mannequin.[10]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A (fashion) model: défilé de mannequins, taille mannequin.[2][4]
  2. A dummy, mannequin (dressmaker's, shop-window).[2][4]
  3. A lay figure (for artists); a figure imitating a human being.[2][9]
  4. (dated, figurative) A puppet, spineless person.[2][5]

Word family

  • mannequiner
  • mannequinage

mannequin2 small basket

Confidence
Probable
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
1242, mandequin
Ultimate origin
Middle Dutch (mandekijn)

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /man.kɛ̃/[4]

Forms

mannequin m (plural mannequins)[4]

Etymology

It comes from Middle Dutch mandekijn (“small basket”), a diminutive of “mande” “basket” (see manne (“large basket”)), or an unrecorded “*mannekijn”, diminutive of “manne”.[1][11][2][9][12] Littré thought it probably a different word from “mannequin” “figure”, coming from “manne”.[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Mandequin is recorded in 1242 and mannequin in 1467.[1][2]

Semantic evolution

It is a gardener's small rectangular basket for carrying fruit and vegetables, covering delicate plants in winter or holding the roots of young trees to be transplanted, and formerly a sculpted ornament representing a basket of flowers or fruit (Littré, 1868).[11][2] Larousse describes it as a large wicker basket with two handles.[9]

Timeline

  • 1242 – Mandequin.[1]
  • 1467 – Mannequin.[1]
  • 1868 – A sculpted basket ornament, in Littré.[11]

Meanings

Noun

  1. (horticulture) A small basket (for fruit, vegetables or plants).[2][11]
  2. (dated, architecture) A sculpted basket of flowers or fruit.[11]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  3. ^ a b c d Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  4. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Trésor de la langue française informatisé (2004), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/tlfi; electronic version of Imbs, Paul; Quemada, Bernard, eds. (1971–1994), Trésor de la langue française, Paris: CNRS / Gallimard
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  7. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 16, 514b
  8. ^ Quemada, Bernard, ed. (1959–2006), Datations et documents lexicographiques (Base historique du vocabulaire français, BHVF), Paris: Klincksieck / CNRS / Champion; ATILF
  9. ^ a b c d Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)
  10. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  11. ^ a b c d e Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  12. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 16, 510b

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Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Mannequin.” Etymologically, 17 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/mannequin. Accessed 17 Oct. 2026.

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