Some names for the thong make reference to the bareness of the buttocks, such as the Spanish word colaless. (The word's origin is probably connected to the English term "topless" but in reference to cola, a colloquial word meaning "butt" in South American Spanish.) In some other languages the "T"-like shape of the back is emphasised. In Chinese, the thong is commonly called dingziku (丁字褲/丁字裤) which literally means 丁 character pants (or roughly, T-letter pants). In Korean, it is called 티팬티 (T panty). The term "T-back" is sometimes used in English, as in the novel T-Backs, T-Shirts, COAT, and Suit by E. L. Konigsburg. Thong vs. G-string Colloquially, thongs and G-strings are often used interchangeably to describe skimpy underwear with minimal back coverage, although the main difference is usually attributed to the width of the strap in the rear. This is a definition reflected in the Encyclopedia of Clothing and Fashion, which considers the G-string or thong to be a panty with half- to one-inch strip of fabric at the back that goes between the buttocks", using the terms interchangeably. Conversely, Knickers: a Brief History says: "Minor tweaks to the cut earned these skimpy panties different titles—from the thong, which has a one-inch strip of fabric down the back, to a G-string, which, as the name equivalent of Spanish suggests (hilo dental), is more like a string of fabric akin between the teeth." Alternatively, some sources have attributed thongs to be a derivation of the G-string, as claimed by Striptease: the Untold History of the Girlie Show. Similarly, the Heinemann English Dictionary describes "thong" as a very skimpy style of undergarment or swimsuit, similar to a G-string. A reverse description is used in Americanisms: the Illustrated Book of Words Made in the USA, which calls the G-string as a type of thong invented in 1936 and attributed to strippers, that consists of a small triangular piece of fabric connected by two elastic straps. History The thong, like its probable predecessor the loincloth, is believed to be one of the earliest forms of human clothing and is also thought to have been worn mostly or exclusively by men. It is thought the thong was probably originally developed to protect, support, or hide the male genitals. The loincloth is probably the earliest form of clothing used by mankind, having originated in the warmer climates of sub-Saharan Africa where clothing was first worn