 By making an inappropriate analogy with words like bilingual and bilateral containing the Latin prefix " bi- " ( meaning " two " in Latin ) , the word bikini was first back @-@ derived as consisting of two parts , [ bi + kini ] by Rudi Gernreich , who introduced the monokini in 1964 . Later swimsuit designs like the tankini and trikini further cemented this false assumption . Over time the " – kini family " ( as dubbed by author William Safire ) , including the " – ini sisters " ( as dubbed by designer Anne Cole ) , expanded into a variety of swimwear , often with an innovative lexicon , including the monokini ( also numokini or unikini ) , seekini , tankini , camikini , hikini ( also hipkini ) , minikini , and microkini . The Language Report , compiled by lexicographer Susie Dent and published by the Oxford University Press ( OUP ) in 2003 , considers lexicographic inventions like bandeaukini and camkini , two variants of the tankini , important to observe . Although " bikini " was originally a registered trademark of Réard , it has since become genericized . 
