nickname
See also: Nickname
EnglishEdit
EtymologyEdit
From Middle English nekename, alteration (due to a rebracketing of an ekename as a nekename) of earlier ekename (“nickname”), from eke (“also, additional”) + name (“name”).[1] Compare Old Norse aukanafn, auknafn, auknefni (“nickname”), Faroese eyknevni (“nickname”), Danish øgenavn (“nickname”), Swedish öknamn (“nickname”), and German Low German Ökelname (“nickname”).
For other similar cases of incorrect division, see also apron, daffodil, newt, orange, umpire.
PronunciationEdit
NounEdit
nickname (plural nicknames)
- A familiar, invented name for a person or thing used instead of the actual name of the person or thing, often based on some noteworthy characteristic.
- "The Big Apple" is a common nickname for New York City.
- A familiar, shortened or diminutive name for a person or thing.
- My name is Jonathan, but I go by my nickname, Johnny.
Usage notesEdit
Nicknames are often given in quotation marks between the first and last names. For example: Sammy "The Bull" Gravano.
SynonymsEdit
DescendantsEdit
TranslationsEdit
familiar, invented given name
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byname
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- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
VerbEdit
nickname (third-person singular simple present nicknames, present participle nicknaming, simple past and past participle nicknamed)
- (transitive) To give a nickname to (a person or thing).
- Gerald, nicknamed "Jerry", was usually a very cheerful person.
TranslationsEdit
to give a nickname to
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ReferencesEdit
- ^ Arika Okrent (2019-07-05), “12 Old Words That Survived by Getting Fossilized in Idioms”, in Mental Floss[1], Pocket, retrieved 2021-10-08