Microkini

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. An extremely skimpy bikini consisting of minimal fabric coverage
2. A bikini with notably reduced size and material, leaving most of the body exposed
3. A tiny bikini that covers far less area than a standard swimsuit

Etymology: The bikini swimsuit was itself named after Bikini Atoll, the Pacific island where the United States tested nuclear weapons in 1946, and the name was chosen because the design was supposed to be as sensational as the blast. "Microkini" takes that name and shrinks it, joining the prefix "micro-", meaning small, to the older word. The result describes a swimsuit even smaller than the bikini, with the bottoms cut down to a minimal strip and the top often reduced to little more than a few triangles or strings. The prefix "micro-" comes from the Greek "mikros", meaning small, and has been used in English to form compounds since the nineteenth century, often in technical contexts such as "microscope". Attaching it to a fashion term was a playful extension of that scientific habit, so the coinage reads as a joke on the bikini's own reputation for shock value.

Synonyms: micro bikini