What is "manakin"

Manakin \Man"a*kin\, n. A dwarf. See Manikin.
--Shak.

Manakin \Man"a*kin\, n. [Cf. F. & G. manakin; prob. the native name.] (Zo["o]l.) Any one of numerous small birds belonging to Pipra, Manacus, and other genera of the family Piprid[ae]. They are mostly natives of Central and South Americ

1. Some are bright-colored, and others have the wings and tail curiously ornamented. The name is sometimes applied to related birds of other families.

n. Any of several small, passerine, South American birds of the family Pipridae.

1. n. a woman who wears clothes to display fashions; "she was too fat to be a mannequin" [syn: mannequin, manikin, mannikin, fashion model, model]

2. a life-size dummy used to display clothes [syn: mannequin, manikin, mannikin, form]

3. any of numerous small bright-colored birds of Central America and South America having short bills and elaborate courtship behavior

The manakins are a clade (Pipridae) of unique small suboscine passerine birds. The group contains some 60 species distributed through the American tropics. The name is from Middle Dutch mannekijn "little man" (also the source of the different bird name mannikin).