nickname

[nik-neym]

See more synonyms for nickname on Thesaurus.com

noun

a name added to or substituted for the proper name of a person, place, etc., as in affection, ridicule, or familiarity: He has always loathed his nickname of “Whizzer.”
a familiar form of a proper name, as Jim for James and Peg for Margaret.

verb (used with object), nick·named, nick·nam·ing.

to give a nickname to (a person, town, etc.); call by a nickname.
Archaic. to call by an incorrect or improper name; misname.

Origin of nickname

1400–50; late Middle English nekename, for ekename (the phrase an ekename being taken as a nekename). See eke², name; cf. newt

Related formsnick·nam·er, nounun·nick·named, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for nickname

epithet, style, tag, moniker, sobriquet, byword, appellation, handle, diminutive, denomination, label

Examples from the Web for nickname

Contemporary Examples of nickname

My nickname was Captain, though I was a private, first class.
The Story Behind Lee Marvin’s Liberty Valance Smile
Robert Ward
January 3, 2015
His nickname, given to him at the Battle of Gettysburg and which he kept for the rest of his life, was Stonewall Jim.
Stonewall Jackson, VMI’s Most Embattled Professor
S. C. Gwynne
November 29, 2014
He even allegedly had a nickname for his violent, aggressive alter ego: Rick.
Creed Singer Scott Stapp’s Fall From Grace: From 40 Million Albums Sold to Living in a Holiday Inn
Marlow Stern
November 27, 2014
Mamoru taunts Usagi by giving her the nickname “dumpling head.”
‘Sailor Moon’ Is an Oasis for Superheroes Who Can Save the Universe in Heels
Rich Goldstein
November 26, 2014
Her “little bird” may have been The3Pr0, the nickname for the many cybersecurity experts believe is the founder of SEA.
The Kardashian Look-Alike Trolling for Assad
Noah Shachtman, Michael Kennedy
October 17, 2014

Historical Examples of nickname

His parentage was obscure, and he was generally known only by his nickname of Professor.
The Secret Agent
Joseph Conrad
My dear sir, perhaps you don't know that my nickname since the age of five has been 'Duffer?'
It Happened in Egypt
C. N. Williamson
After a joyous ramble, 'Ockley's nickname still sticks to him!'
Echoes of the War
J. M. Barrie
We call him the Philosopher, a nickname folks have given him in the neighbourhood.
The Three Cities Trilogy, Complete
Emile Zola
This nickname, which she received full in the face for the first time, fell on her like a blow.
L'Assommoir
Emile Zola

British Dictionary definitions for nickname

nickname

noun

a familiar, pet, or derisory name given to a person, animal, or placehis nickname was Lefty because he was left-handed
a shortened or familiar form of a person's nameJoe is a nickname for Joseph

verb

(tr) to call by a nickname; give a nickname to

Word Origin for nickname

C15 a nekename, mistaken division of an ekename an additional name, from eke addition + name

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for nickname

mid-15c., misdivision of ekename (c.1300), an eke name, literally "an additional name," from Old English eaca "an increase," related to eacian "to increase" (see eke; also see N). As a verb from 1530s. Related: Nicknamed; nicknaming.