nickname
Pluralnicknames
Verbnicknames, nicknaming, nicknamed
Pluralnicknames
Formsnicknames, nicknaming, nicknamed
- 1An informal name used instead of a person's or thing's real name, often based on a notable trait or a short form of the real name.
Because of his height, the center earned the nickname "the Tower" in his first season.
Locals gave the old steel bridge a nickname, the Rusty Mile, long before the city repainted it.
UsageYou give someone a nickname, or someone earns the nickname "the Tower".
Note
Such an extra name can outlast the real one; according to a disputed ancient tradition, Plato was named Aristocles, but a nickname from the Greek for "broad" practically replaced it.
Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 2 facts
- This is a disputed ancient tradition, widely rejected by modern scholarship, rather than an established biographical fact. en.wikipedia.org
- The Greek root associated with the name Plato means broad. en.wiktionary.org
- 2To give someone or something an informal name in place of the real one.
Reporters nicknamed the storm "the Beast" before it even reached land.
Players on the team like to nickname each new member during the first practice.
UsagePerson first, then the name, with no as: they nicknamed him Bear (not
incorrect: nicknamed him as Bear).
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Origin
From Middle English neke name, a change of the earlier ekename, from eke, “additional,” + name: “an ekename” was split wrongly as “a nekename.” Compare Old Norse auknefni and Swedish öknamn.
Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 3 facts
- Nickname derives from Middle English neke name, an alteration of earlier ekename, formed from eke meaning additional plus name, through rebracketing an ekename as a nekename. en.wiktionary.org
- Old Norse auknefni is an etymological counterpart of nickname. ans-names.pitt.edu
- Swedish öknamn is an etymological counterpart of nickname. en.wiktionary.org