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)

, nick·named, nick·nam·ing.

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 Words From

• nicknamer noun
• un·nicknamed 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

Prescott was given the nickname “two Jags” by the press after it was revealed he used two Jaguar cars – one of them his own and the second a ministerial car.

From BBC

He was nicknamed “Two Jags” by the tabloids after it emerged that he owned two Jaguar cars.

From New York Times

He was nicknamed "two jags" by the press after it emerged he had two Jaguar cars.

From BBC

Mr Acutis gained his nickname partly by designing websites for his parish and school, but he mainly became known for launching a website seeking to document every reported Eucharistic miracle.

From BBC

Police said the plotters had nicknamed the operation "green and yellow dagger", in reference to the colours of the Brazilian flag.

From BBC

Related Words

• epithet
• moniker
• sobriquet
• style
• tag