Etymology From Middle English neke name, alteration (due to a rebracketing of an ekename as a nekename) of earlier ekename (“nickname”), from eke (“additional”) + name. Compare Old Norse aukanafn, auknafn, auknefni, Faroese eyknevni, Danish øgenavn, Norwegian Nynorsk aukenamn, Swedish öknamn, and German Low German Ökelname. For other similar cases of incorrect division, see also apron, daffodil, newt, orange, umpire.
1
A familiar, invented name for a person or thing used instead of the actual name of the person or thing, often based on some noteworthy characteristic.
"The Big Apple" is a common nickname for New York City.
[…] Plato, who was named Aristocles after his grandfather, but received from his gymnastic master the nickname Πλάτων (from πλάτυς, broad), which practically superseded his real name.1945, E[lizabeth] G[idley] Withycombe, “Introduction”, in The Oxford Dictionary of English Christian Names, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Clarendon Press, →OCLC, page xiii:
2 more examples
He excelled with the arbalest steel crossbow, winning the nickname the Arbalestier and joined Bahriyya regiment, the crack soldiers who defeated the Crusaders and became known as the Turkish Lions and the Islamic Templars.2011, Simon Sebag Montefiore, Jerusalem: The Biography – A History of the Middle East, page 329:
Both literally and figuratively, the city has cleaned up without sacrificing the edge that inspired its locally embraced nickname of “Grit City.”2024 June 23, Corinne Whiting, “The dazzling sides of ‘Grit City’”, in CNN, archived from the original on 05 Oct 2024:
2
A familiar, shortened or diminutive name for a person or thing.
My name is Jonathan, but I go by my nickname, Johnny.
Etymology From Middle English neke name, alteration (due to a rebracketing of an ekename as a nekename) of earlier ekename (“nickname”), from eke (“additional”) + name. Compare Old Norse aukanafn, auknafn, auknefni, Faroese eyknevni, Danish øgenavn, Norwegian Nynorsk aukenamn, Swedish öknamn, and German Low German Ökelname. For other similar cases of incorrect division, see also apron, daffodil, newt, orange, umpire.
1
To give a nickname to (a person or thing).
Gerald, nicknamed "Jerry", was usually a very cheerful person.
He was nicknamed Chemical Ali by Iraqi Kurds, who also called him the Butcher of Kurdistan2010 January 25, “Iraq executes Chemical Ali”, in The Guardian, archived from the original on 29 Apr 2025: