nickname
oxford
views updated Jun 11 2018nick·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.
The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English
nickname
oxford
views updated May 14 2018nickname XV. ME.
nekename, f.
-n of
AN + †
ekename (XIV), f.
eke addition (see
EKE2) +
NAME, after ON.
aukanafn.
The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology T. F. HOAD
nickname
oxford
views updated May 14 2018nickname 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.
The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable ELIZABETH KNOWLES
