Global InformationMannequin information
A mannequin (sometimes spelled as manikin and also called a dummy, lay figure, or dress form) is a doll, often articulated, used by artists, tailors, dressmakers, window dressers and others, especially to display or fit clothing and show off different fabrics and textiles. Previously, the English term referred to human models and muses (a meaning which it still retains in French and other European languages); the meaning as a dummy dating from the start of World War II.[1]
Life-sized mannequins with simulated airways are used in the teaching of first aid, CPR, and advanced airway management skills such as tracheal intubation. During the 1950s, mannequins were used in nuclear tests to help show the effects of nuclear weapons on humans.[2][3] Also referred to as mannequins are the human figures used in computer simulation to model the behavior of the human body.
Mannequin comes from the French word mannequin, which had acquired the meaning "an artist's jointed model", which in turn came from the Flemish word manneken, meaning "little man, figurine",[4] referring to late Middle Ages practice in Flanders whereby public display of even women's clothes was performed by male pages (boys). Fashion shops in Paris ordered dolls in reed from Flemish merchants. Flanders was in terms of logistics the easiest region to import reed dolls from, as the rivers Schelde and Oise provided easy routes from Flanders to Paris. As the Flemish wrote 'manneke(n)' for 'little man' on their invoices, the Parisians pronounced this as 'mannequen', hence shifted to 'mannequin'. A mannequin is thus linguistically masculine, not feminine.
- ^ 1902 Pall Mall Mag. XXVII. 119 Another salon ornamented with tall mirrors in which were reflected the slender elegant figures of several mannequins, most of them exceedingly pretty and all arrayed in magnificent dresses... 1939 M. B. Picken Lang. Fashion 97/2 Mannequin model of human figure for display of garments, hats, furs, etc. "mannequin". Oxford English Dictionary (Online ed.). Oxford University Press. (Subscription or participating institution membership required.)
- ^ "Nuclear Test Mannequins". Seattle Times Trinity Web. Seattle Times Company. 1995. Archived from the original on 15 January 2012.
- ^ Trivedi, Bijal P. (15 July 2002). "Archaeologists Explore Cold War Nuclear Test Site". National Geographic News. Archived from the original on 18 August 2017.
- ^ "mannequin". The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language. Houghton Mifflin Company. 2004. Archived from the original on 2009-08-10. Retrieved 2009-08-07.