bikini

The word 'bikini' is a modern borrowing, entering English in the mid-20th century. It is named after Bikini Atoll, a coral reef in the Marshall Islands where the United States conducted nuclear tests in 1946. The name of the atoll itself is of Marshallese origin. The logic behind the naming was the metaphorical "explosive" social and cultural impact of the revealing swimsuit, likening it to the atomic test explosions at the namesake location. Thus, a geographical proper noun transformed into a common noun denoting a specific article of clothing.

This word is a loanword and proper noun, adopted as a single, unsegmentable unit in English.