A mannequin (also called a dummy, lay figure or dress form) is an often articulated doll used by artists, tailors, dressmakers, and others especially to display or fit clothing. During the 1950s, mannequins were also used in nuclear tests to help illustrate the effects of nuclear weapons on human beings. The term is also used for life-sized dolls with simulated airways used in the teaching of first aid, CPR, and advanced airway management skills such as tracheal intubation and for human figures used in computer simulation to model the behaviour of the human body. Mannequin is also used in English in the sense of fashion model.
Mannequin comes from the French word mannequin, which had acquired the meaning "an artist's jointed model", which in turn came from the Middle Dutch word mannekijn, meaning "little man, figurine".
