Bikini

See also: bikini and bikiní

English

Etymology

From German Bikini, the colonial name of the atoll as part of German New Guinea, and this was derived from Marshallese Pikinni.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈbɪkɪni/, /bɪˈkiːni/

Proper noun

Bikini

1. Bikini atoll.

Usage notes

While the word bikini, in reference to the swimsuit, usually has just one pronunciation stressed on the second syllable, the English place name Bikini has two pronunciations. /ˈbɪkɪni/ is the older pronunciation stressed on the first syllable, and is still widely used in English by those most familiar with the atoll. /bɪˈkiːni/ is a newer pronunciation stressed on the second syllable, influenced by the swimsuit term.

Descendants

• → French: Bikini
  • ⇒ French: bikini
    • → Dutch: bikini
    • → English: bikini
      • → Norwegian Bokmål: bikini
    • → German: Bikini
    • → Portuguese: biquíni
    • → Spanish: biquini

French

Etymology

From English Bikini, from earlier German Bikini, the colonial name of the atoll as part of German New Guinea, and this was derived from Marshallese Pikinni.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /bi.ki.ni/

Proper noun

Bikini ?

1. Bikini atoll

Descendants

• ⇒ French: bikini
  • → Dutch: bikini
  • → English: bikini
    • → Norwegian Bokmål: bikini
  • → German: Bikini
  • → Portuguese: biquíni
  • → Spanish: biquini

German

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /biˈkiːni/

• Audio (Berlin):

  (file)

Etymology 1

Borrowed from Marshallese Pikinni.

Proper noun

Bikini

1. Bikini (an atoll in the Marshall Islands)

Descendants

• → English: Bikini
  • → French: Bikini
    • ⇒ French: bikini
      • → Dutch: bikini
      • → English: bikini
        • → Norwegian Bokmål: bikini
      • → German: Bikini
      • → Portuguese: biquíni
      • → Spanish: biquini

Etymology 2

Borrowed from French bikini, named after the place name Bikini, from the French name of the atoll where the United States tested nuclear weapons in July 1946; it was reckoned that the bathing suit would cause as much excitement as an atom bomb. The name Bikini itself was originally the German colonial name of the atoll as part of German New Guinea, and this was derived from Marshallese Pikinni.

Noun

A Bikini

Bikini m or n (strong, genitive Bikinis, plural Bikinis)

1. a bikini (scanty two-piece swimsuit named after the above-mentioned island)

Usage notes

• The word is also neuter in Switzerland.

Declension

Declension of Bikini [masculine // neuter, strong]

	singular			plural
	indef.	def.	noun	def.	noun
nominative	ein	der, das	Bikini	die	Bikinis
genitive	eines	des	Bikinis	der	Bikinis
dative	einem	dem	Bikini	den	Bikinis
accusative	einen, ein	den, das	Bikini	die	Bikinis

Related terms

• Monokini

Further reading

• “Bikini” in Duden online