nickname

views updated Jun 11 2018

nick·name / ˈnikˌnām/ • n. a familiar or humorous name given to a person or thing instead of or as well as the real name.• v. [tr.] give a nickname to; call by a nickname: his fraternity brothers nicknamed him “The Bird” because of his skydiving skills.

nickname

views updated May 14 2018

nickname XV. ME. nekename, f. -n of AN + †ekename (XIV), f. eke addition (see EKE2) + NAME, after ON. aukanafn.

nickname

views updated May 14 2018

nickname a familiar or humorous name given to a person or thing instead of or as well as the real name. The word is recorded from late Middle English, and comes from an eke name (eke meaning ‘addition’) misinterpreted, by wrong division, as a neke name.

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