Manneken

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A small statue or figure often representing a human, typically used as decoration or for artistic purposes
2. A diminutive sculpture that depicts a person, often employed as an ornamental piece in various settings
3. A miniature representation of a human figure, commonly utilized for decorative or illustrative purposes

Etymology: Dutch and Flemish speakers formed "manneken" by adding the diminutive ending "-ken" to "man," so the literal sense is "little man." The suffix is closely related to German "-chen," which is why the logic of the word is easy to guess for speakers of either language. The best-known example is Brussels's Manneken-Pis, a small bronze fountain of a boy urinating into a basin, which has become one of the city's most recognizable emblems. Its name combines the diminutive with "pis," the Dutch and Flemish word for urine, so the title means roughly "little man who pees." The statue is a small human figure in a fountain, so the word fits both its size and its subject.

Synonyms: mannequin, model, dummy, figure, puppet