maillot

English

WOTD – 8 March 2012

Etymology

Etymology tree

French maillotbor.

English maillot

Borrowed from French maillot (“shirt, leotard”).

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /mæˈjəʊ/

  • Audio (Southern England):

    (file)

• (US) IPA^(key): /mæˈjoʊ/
• Rhymes: -əʊ

Noun

maillot (plural maillots)

1. A one-piece swimsuit (for women).
2. A leotard or tights of stretchable jersey fabric, generally worn by dancers, gymnasts or cyclists.

Synonyms

• (swimsuit): tanksuit, tank suit, one-piece
• (leotard): leotard, tights

Translations

one-piece swimsuit

• Bulgarian: бански костюм m (banski kostjum)
• Finnish: kokouimapuku (fi)
• Portuguese: maiô (pt) m

leotard or tights of stretchable jersey fabric

• Bulgarian: трико n (triko)
• Portuguese: maiô (pt) m

Dutch

Etymology

Borrowed from French maillot (“shirt, leotard”).

Pronunciation

• Audio:

  (file)

• Hyphenation: mail‧lot
• Rhymes: -oː

Noun

maillot n or m (plural maillots, diminutive maillotje n)

1. maillot

French

Etymology

From Old French mailloel, from maille.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ma.jo/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Audio (Switzerland (Valais)):

  (file)

• Audio (France (Vosges)):

  (file)

• Audio (France (Vosges)):

  (file)

• Audio (France (Lyon)):

  (file)

Noun

maillot m (plural maillots)

1. (clothing) vest
2. leotard (of a dancer); shirt, jersey (of a footballer); singlet (of a runner; of a basketball player)

   Synonyms: t-shirt, tricot, tricot de peau

   Un maillot de danseuse. ― A dancer's leotard.

3. (cosmetics) bikini line

   Se faire épiler le maillot. ― To wax one's bikini line.

4. (historical, obsolete) swaddling clothes

   Un enfant au maillot. ― A child in swaddling clothes.

Derived terms

• démailloter
• emmailloter
• emmaillotter
• maillot blanc
• maillot de bain
• maillot de corps
• maillot jaune
• maillot une pièce
• maillot vert
• porte-maillot
• réemmailloter
• sous-maillot
• succès de maillot

Descendants

• → Catalan: mallot
• → Dutch: maillot
• → English: maillot
• → Greek: μαγιό (magió)
• Haitian Creole: mayo
• → Hijazi Arabic: مايوه (māyō)
• → Portuguese: maiô
• → Romanian: maiou, maieu
  • → Hungarian: majó
• → Spanish: maillot
• → Turkish: mayo
• → Vietnamese: áo may ô, may ô

Further reading

• “maillot”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012

Spanish

Etymology

French maillot.

Pronunciation

 

• IPA^(key): /maiˈʝot/ [mai̯ˈʝot̪]

• IPA^(key): /maiˈʝot/ [mai̯ˈʝot̪] (Equatorial Guinea, most of Latin America and Spain)
• IPA^(key): /maiˈʎot/ [mai̯ˈʎot̪] (Andes Mountains, rustic northern Spain, Paraguay, Philippines)
• IPA^(key): /maiˈʃot/ [mai̯ˈʃot̪] (Buenos Aires and environs)
• IPA^(key): /maiˈʒot/ [mai̯ˈʒot̪] (elsewhere in Argentina and Uruguay)

• • Rhymes: -ot
  • Syllabification: mai‧llot

 

• IPA^(key): (nonstandard) /maˈʝo/ [maˈʝo]

• IPA^(key): (nonstandard) /maˈʝo/ [maˈʝo] (Equatorial Guinea, most of Latin America and Spain)
• IPA^(key): (nonstandard) /maˈʎo/ [maˈʎo] (Andes Mountains, rustic northern Spain, Paraguay, Philippines)
• IPA^(key): (nonstandard) /maˈʃo/ [maˈʃo] (Buenos Aires and environs)
• IPA^(key): (nonstandard) /maˈʒo/ [maˈʒo] (elsewhere in Argentina and Uruguay)

Noun

maillot m (plural maillots)

1. jersey

Derived terms

• maillot amarillo

Further reading

• “maillot”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025
• Diccionario panhispánico de dudas (DPD) (en línea), 2.ª edición (versión provisional).