This word comes from the French marionette, which is the diminutive form of Marion, which in turn is the diminutive form of Marie. Therefore, the literal translation would be "little little Mary". In the 15th century the word was applied to the puppets worked by strings, something that was common in Europe during that time. It is supposed that the origin of the word may be a French reference to the Virgin Mary, which often was the main character in those puppet plays.

Esta palabra proviene del francés marionette, que es el diminutivo de Marion, que a su vez es el diminutivo de Marie. Por lo tanto, la traducción literal sería "pequeña pequeña María". En el siglo XV la palabra era aplicada a los títeres manejados con cuerdas, algo que era común en Europa durante esa época. Se supone que el origen de la palabra podría ser una referencia francesa a la Virgen María, que frecuentemente era el personaje principal de aquellas obras de títeres.