Editing Merkin (section)

==History and etymology==
The ''[[Oxford Companions|Oxford Companion to the Body]]'' dates the origin of the pubic wig to the 1450s. According to the publication, women would shave their pubic hair for personal hygiene and to combat [[Pediculosis pubis|pubic lice]]. They would then put on a merkin. Also, sex workers would wear a merkin to cover up signs of disease, such as [[syphilis]].<ref>''Oxford Companion to the Body'' [[Oxford University Press]], 2002</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/g2/story/0,3604,985079,00.html|title=A short and curly history of the merkin|work=The Guardian|first=Gareth|last=Francis|date=2003-06-26}}</ref>

The ''[[Oxford English Dictionary]]'' dates the first written use of the term to 1617. The word probably originated from ''[[wiktionary:malkin|malkin]]'',<ref name="NED">{{cite book|last1=Bradley|first1=Henry|author-link=Henry Bradley|last2=Cragie|first2=William Alexander|author2-link=William Craigie|editor-last=Murray|editor-first=James Alexander Henry|editor-link=James Murray (lexicographer)|work=[[A New English Dictionary on Historical Principles]]|volume=6|series=2|page=360|date=1908|title=Merkin|publisher=[[Clarendon Press]]|location=[[Oxford]]|display-editors=etal}}</ref><ref name="OED"/> a derogatory term for a lower-class young woman, or from ''Marykin'', a [[pet name|pet form]] of the female given name ''[[Mary (given name)|Mary]]''.<ref name="OED">{{cite web|url=http://www.oed.com/view/Entry/116815|website=[[OED Online]]|title=merkin, n.1|publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]|access-date=2014-07-14}}</ref>