Nickname
/ˈnɪk.neɪm/noun
A familiar or informal name given to a person or thing.
Did you know?The word began as Middle English an ekename, but because people misheard the phrase as “a nekename,” the extra n slid into the word itself — a classic case of rebracketing.
Etymological Timeline
Old English
OE
ēac
“to add, increase”
Middle English
ME
eke name / ekename
“an additional name; an added name”
14th–15th Century
English
a nekename
“a misdivided form of ekename, with the phrase boundary shifted”
15th Century
English
nickname
“an added or secondary name”
Modern English
English
nickname
“an informal or familiar name”