bikini

noun bee-kee-NEE Rare

Origin: Named after Bikini Atoll, where atomic bomb tests were conducted in 1946.

Usage Note

Bikini entered French in the late 1940s, named for the nuclear test site to suggest the garment's 'explosive' impact. The plural is des bikinis. In casual speech the word is often shortened or used attributively: un haut de bikini ('a bikini top').

Examples

"Elle porte un bikini rouge sur la plage."

Natural Translation

She is wearing a red bikini on the beach.

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