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

It’s partly why he embraced the nickname “Alien.”

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

“He’s the Rock of Ages of music,” says Carpenter, who particularly loves the fugue nicknamed “St. Anne” and the Toccata and Fugue in D Minor.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

But it also left fans and observers of the player nicknamed “The Alien” puzzled.

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The squadron earned its “Gunfighters” nickname during the Vietnam War and has since served in major operations including Operations Desert Storm, Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom.

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Soon she is pregnant with Lillian, later nicknamed “Gish” for the silent film actor, and motherhood overwhelms her.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• epithet 
• moniker 
• sobriquet 
• style 
• tag