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nickname definition

nick·name (nik′nām′)

noun

  1. an additional or substitute name given to a person, place, or thing: usually descriptive and given in fun, affection, or derision, as “Doc,” “Shorty,” etc.
  2. a familiar, often shorter, form of a proper name, as “Dick” for “Richard”

Etymology: < (a)n ekename < ME ekename, surname: see eke & name

transitive verb nicknamed -·named′, nicknaming -·nam′·ing

  1. to give a nickname to
  2. Now Rare to misname

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2005 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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