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

The next month, Pasadena residents found a 500-pound bear, nicknamed “Yogi,” living underneath their home after they were forced to evacuate due to the fire.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Ngựa, a Vietnamese man who asked to be identified by his family nickname, meaning horse, has been detained in California since he crossed the southern border illegally in March.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Electrical discharges nicknamed "mini lightning" were picked up from audio and electromagnetic recordings made by the rover's SuperCam instrument.

Read more on BBC

Perched at almost 7,500 feet above sea level, Abha is occasionally nicknamed by Saudis as the “Lady of the Fog” or “the Bride of the Mountain.”

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Black Friday—the nickname for the day after Thanksgiving—may be an unofficial holiday, but it has earned the reputation of being one of the liveliest shopping days of the year.

Read more on Barron's

Related Words

• epithet 
• moniker 
• sobriquet 
• style 
• tag