nickname

noun nick·name \ ˈnik-ˌnām \

|Updated on: 11 Jul 2018

Examples: nickname in a Sentence

Editor's Note: History of nickname

1 : a usually descriptive name given instead of or in addition to the one belonging to a person, place, or thing

2 : a familiar form of a proper name (as of a person or a city)

See nickname defined for English-language learners

See nickname defined for kids

Examples of nickname in a Sentence

His mother gave him the nickname “Winky” when he was a baby.
Earvin “Magic” Johnson got his nickname from the way he handled a basketball.

Recent Examples of nickname from the Web

The Frightful Five is the catchy nickname given to the five biggest tech companies in the world: Amazon, Apple, Microsoft, Google, and Facebook.

— cam wolf, GQ, "Google Is Spending $550 Million to Become Your New Favorite Store," 2 July 2018
The name Chilola was Gavino’s mother Lola’s nickname growing up.

— jenn harris, latimes.com, "You will soon be able to get Canter's Deli sandwiches at this new food hub in Pasadena," 5 June 2018
Check it this timelessly charming pic of it: As Metro points out, York Cottage once had a now fairly ironic nickname: the Bachelor's Cottage.

— krystin arneson, Glamour, "The Queen Just Gifted Prince Harry and Meghan Markle the Vacation House of Dreams," 3 June 2018
The two gold stripes symbolize rays of sunshine and are a nod to California’s nickname, the Golden State.

— elise taylor, Vogue, "All the Poignant Symbolism in Meghan, Duchess of Sussex’s Coat of Arms," 29 May 2018
The Grootes interview, meanwhile, was uploaded to YouTube with a comment referring to a nickname for the account, Project Biltong, that was known only to the publicists who had worked on it.

— ed caesar, The New Yorker, "The Reputation-Laundering Firm That Ruined Its Own Reputation," 25 May 2018
She was even given an official call sign, a nickname used by mission control when talking to their talent.

— alyson krueger, Teen Vogue, "17-Year-Old Alyssa Carson Wants to Be the First Person on Mars," 21 Mar. 2018
Click through to learn who’s coming back and, seriously, what the hell is in The Forge, which is now the latest nickname for the Valley Beyond everyone has been talking about since the season 2 premiere.

— refinery29.com, "Here's Every Secret Hiding In The Westworld Finale Trailer," 18 June 2018
That's the nickname given to a kidney donated by Stephanie Weber to David Perez.

— jim stingl, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Stingl: Man helped raise a girl and adopted her. She repays the kindness with a kidney.," 15 June 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'nickname.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

History of nickname

It might look like nickname is a compound noun formed by adding nick and name together, but the actual history of this word is a bit more complicated. It was formed by metanalysis, or the changing of the division of words based upon how they sound together. In this case, the Middle English word eke, meaning “also” or “in addition,” was joined with name to form ekename—literally, “also-name,” used for a secondary or unofficial name in the late Middle Ages. Over time, an ekename became a nickname presumably because eke had become less familiar as a word. Needless to say, nick in this case doesn’t mean “also” or anything else, it just represents a comfortable and familiar alternative to the word’s original spelling.

Origin and Etymology of nickname

Middle English nekename additional name, alteration (resulting from misdivision of an ekename) of ekename, from eke eke, also + name name

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 15th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

nickname Synonyms

Synonyms

alias, byname, cognomen, epithet, handle, moniker (also monicker), sobriquet (also soubriquet), surname;

anonym, nom de guerre, nom de plume, pen name, pseudonym;

nickname

verb

transitive verb

1 : misname, miscall

2 : to give a nickname to

—

nicknamer

noun

See nickname defined for English-language learners

Recent Examples of nickname from the Web

Feel the femur or humerus of a Camarasaurus nicknamed Lyle.

— matt campbell, kansascity, "New Union Station exhibit has life-sized moving dinosaurs and bones you can touch," 29 June 2018
Remember long ago, when Tiger Woods was a young phenom and a dude nicknamed Fluff with one of the best mustaches ever was his caddie?

— charles curtis, For The Win, "Tiger Woods gave his former caddie a hug in touching reunion," 27 June 2018
To locals though, the house is nicknamed the Star Wars house, which actually seems to be the perfect way to describe it.

— liz stinson, Curbed, "Dome home designed to withstand hurricanes on the market for $5M," 25 June 2018
The Chow brothers, as they were affectionately nicknamed, were at home at the shelter, Sanchez said.

— traci l. miller, chicagotribune.com, "Dog that lived entire life at Indiana shelter became family," 19 May 2018
The 5th green along with the nearby 15th green are nicknamed the evil twins as they were shaped by Bill Coore at the same time and have a very similar look.

— star-telegram, "How to play the Trinity Forest golf course: Be creative and embrace the character | Fort Worth Star-Telegram," 16 May 2018
But that was back in 2015, and since then New Horizons has been preparing for its next adventure: a flyby of an asteroid even further away than Pluto, recently nicknamed Ultima Thule.

— avery thompson, Popular Mechanics, "New Horizons Wakes Up to Prepare for Asteroid Flyby," 7 June 2018
For comparison, Airbnb, valued at roughly $31 billion today, took nearly three years to earn a billion-dollar valuation, a distinction so rare that companies with billion-dollar valuations are nicknamed unicorns.

— patrick sisson, Curbed, "Bird, the electric scooter company, may become a billion-dollar startup," 29 May 2018
Until then, the 161st overall pick of the draft, who is nicknamed Pee Wee, will continue to soak up knowledge from those around him, and take reps wherever he is needed.

— chapel fowler, charlotteobserver, "Charlotte already offering opportunities for Panthers draft pick Jermaine Carter Jr. | Charlotte Observer," 23 May 2018

First Known Use of nickname

1536

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

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NICKNAME Defined for English Language Learners

nickname

noun

: a name (such as “Moose” or “Lady Bird”) that is different from your real name but is what your family, friends, etc., call you when they are talking to you or about you

nickname

verb

: to give (someone) a name that is not that person's real name : to give a nickname to (someone)

NICKNAME Defined for Kids

nickname

noun nick·name \ ˈnik-ˌnām \

1 : a usually descriptive name used in addition to a person's given name

My brother had the nickname “Nosy.”

2 : a familiar form of a proper name

“Bill” and “Willie” are nicknames for “William.”

History for nickname

In the Middle Ages there was an English word ekename that meant “an extra name.” It was made of a word eke that meant “extra part” added to the word name. It started with a vowel, so an was used with this word instead of a. When an ekename was said fast, it sounded a bit like a nekename. As a result, some people thought the word started with n and began to pronounce it nekename. They did not know they were taking n away from an, adding it to ekename, and so making a new word. From this new word came the word nickname that we use now.