I love writing about unusual words. One of the words that I have always wanted to address is “merkin” but it has never been quite the right time … until now (17 October 2025).
A merkin is a pubic wig mostly for women. It was something that was once used by prostitutes in the 15th to 19th centuries to cover up diseases, loss of pubic hair or parasite infections. They are also used in modern times by actresses when they are doing nude scenes for modesty and to avoid higher censorship ratings.
It is one of those semi-taboo words that sits just outside mainstream vocabulary. It is used for the humour of a shared moment of understanding the taboo. I was surprised not to find it in my old Oxford Concise Dictionary (the two-volume version of the OED) from the 1970s.
But why is now the time?
The catalyst for the new interest in merkins is Kim Kardashian. I don’t want to give her any additional publicity as I don’t like her promotion of body altering fashions like lip augmentation and Brazilian Butt Lifts. But on the other hand, merkins and Kardashian probably do go well together.
On Wednesday of this week, Kardashian’s clothing brand—Skims—released a “faux hair micro string thong”. It has already sold out (but you can get on the waiting list for new stock).
Made from faux hair, the item costs US$32 and comes in 12 shades and textures. They will accessorise nicely with Skims’s nipple bra that creates a braless look with fake nipples.
Origin of merkin
“Merkin” was first used in 1610 according to the Online Etymological Dictionary. “Merkin” replaced the previous word “malkin” or “mawkin” which was originally a humorous or contemptuous term for a wench—a lowly women, at best a servant, at worst a prostitute—or a cat.
Shakespeare uses “graymalkin” for a gray cat. The gray is the colour while malkin was a familiar name for Matilda or Maud that came to be used in dialect as a general name for a cat and then for an untidy woman.
The sense of being an untidy woman extended to mean a mop or a bundle of rags on a stick that were used to clean ovens and artillery pieces. The mop or bundle of rags meaning shifted to the pubic wig.
Mixed reaction to modern-day merkin
While middle-aged cardigan-wearing men like me watch from the sidelines the fashionista take different sides.
A New York Post article unapologetically suggests that Kardashian is a fashion “bigwig” that doesn’t “beat around the bush” and suggest the “fuzzy buzzy undies” have “sent fur flying” online.
They suggest some pundits are calling Kardashian a genius for successfully marketing something so hideous. The Skim marketing promo video that went viral (of course) used the theme “Does the Carpet Match the Drapes?”. A vulgar, old expression asking whether the hair of a woman’s privates mimic the hair on her head.
Others have called it “ obscene” and suggest she should be imprisoned for crimes against fashion.
But I have to concede that in a world were everyone is vying for attention the Kardashian modern-day merkin is quite brilliant. And here I am on the bandwagon. Please shoot me!