nickname

[nik-neym]

noun

1. 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.”

2. a familiar form of a proper name, as Jim for James and Peg for Margaret.

verb (used with object)

nicknamed, nicknaming 

1. to give a nickname to (a person, town, etc.); call by a nickname.

2. Archaic.,  to call by an incorrect or improper name; misname.

nickname

/ ˈnɪkˌneɪm /

noun

1. a familiar, pet, or derisory name given to a person, animal, or place

   his nickname was Lefty because he was left-handed

2. a shortened or familiar form of a person's name

   Joe is a nickname for Joseph

verb

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

Other Word Forms

• nicknamer noun
• unnicknamed adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of nickname¹

1400–50; late Middle English nekename, for ekename (the phrase an ekename being taken as a nekename ). See eke ², name; newt

Word History and Origins

Origin of nickname¹

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

Example Sentences

Australians had organically adopted "Bom" as a term of affection, like a nickname for a friend, he said.

Read more on BBC

She reportedly dresses in expensive outfits, and arrives at restaurants with a high-resolution camera and lighting equipment, earning her the nickname, the "dine-and-dash diva".

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“I was completely blown away. Kobie has so much talent on the football field and just as much with musical instruments. His nickname, `The Conductor,’ is very fitting.”

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Johnson pledges his devotion to tropes like cawing ravens and thunderous rainstorms while giving his various red herrings silly nicknames like “the knife robot” and “the clangy clunk.”

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And unlike decades ago — when Ramos had to sneak around in darkness to spray-paint his nickname in large, block letters all over the city and surrounding areas — this time it was fully permissible.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• epithet 
• moniker 
• sobriquet 
• style 
• tag