A name given to a person that is typically a shorter version of their existing full name. Nicknames can also be given to a person based on personality traits or other defining attributes of that person. The "nickname" usually derives from a friend, family member, or sometimes enemy calling a specific person a name not their own. The "nickname," if catchy enough, will stick and that person will begin being referred to by their nickname
moreso than their actual full name.
The term, "nickname" originated from the the time of
St. Nicholas when people had a particular difficulty with phonetics. The
commoners had difficulty saying Nicholas, so they began calling him: "
St. Nick", The term, "nick" also referrs to something being chipped off, such as: "Thou nicked off a piece of thine rock to
make it fit in thy dwelling." Over the centuries, nickname became the term for a shortening of someone's full name, like a part of it being nicked off.
My
full name is
Richard, but you can call me Dick. That is my
nickname.
