Definition of "manikin" in English

noun

1. A little man (sometimes as a term of endearment).

2. A three-dimensional figure, dummy or effigy representing a man or person.

   • 1859, Fitz James O’Brien, “The Wondersmith” in The Poems and Stories of Fitz-James O’Brien, James R. Osgood & Co., 1881, reprinted by University Press: John Wilson & Son, Cambridge, 1969, pp. 179-180, The window […] contains the only pleasant object in the place. This is a beautiful little miniature theatre,—that is to say, the orchestra and stage. It is fitted with charmingly painted scenery and all the appliances for scenic changes. There are tiny traps and delicately constructed “lifts,” and real footlights fed with burning-fluid, and in the orchestra sits a diminutive conductor before his desk, surrounded by musical manikins, all provided with the smallest of violoncellos, flutes, oboes, drums, and such like.

3. Alternative spelling of mannequin.

   • 1997, American Red Cross, Sport Safety Training: Instructor’s Manual, Granada Learning Limited, p. 118, Students should be told in advance that training sessions will involve close physical contact with manikins used by their fellow students.