Etymology

maknae

M3A1K5N1A1E1

Today it means: The youngest member of an idol group. Full definition →

Korean 막내
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The story

  1. Korean · borrowed from막내“youngest person in a group”
  2. English todaymaknae

Borrowed from Korean 막내 (mangnae, “youngest person in a group”), transferred from its original meaning of "lastborn child".

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.