Etymology of the "nick" used in "nickname"? [closed]
Solution 1:
Its origin dates back to the beginning of the 14th century, while its current spelling is more recent: Nickname:
The compound word ekename, literally meaning "additional name", was attested as early as 1303. This word was derived from the Old English phrase eaca "an increase", related to eacian "to increase".
By the fifteenth century, the misdivision of the syllables of the phrase "an ekename" led to its reanalysis as "a nekename". Though the spelling has changed, the pronunciation and meaning of the word have remained relatively stable ever since.
(Wikipedia)
Nick is also the short for Nicholas, (Saint Nicholas in this case) but it is not clear if "Saint Nick" is related to the "Old Nick", and probably it is not:
- masc. proper name, familiar form of Nicholas. As "the devil" by 1640s, but the reason for it is obscure.
See also:
Old Nick and English deviltry from Grammarphobia
“Old Nick” (later “Nick”) has been a name for the Devil since the mid-17th century. The OED says there’s no convincing explanation of how “Nick” came to be associated with deviltry.
One theory, according to the dictionary, is that the name “Nick” comes from Machiavelli’s first name, Niccolò. Another theory is that “Nick” is a shortened form of “iniquity.”
Whatever the origin of this usage, it’s not surprising that a word with such shady connections should come to mean a place where shady characters are held by the police.
Solution 2:
The Oxford Advanced Learners' Dictionary suggests the following explanation:
Nickname:
- Late Middle English origin, from eke name (eke means additional), misinterpreted by wrong division, as a neke name.
Some suggestions exist that widely used aka is not the abbreviation of also known as but the modern form of eke.
Solution 3:
According to the OED, nickname is a variant of eke-name, with eke an Old English root meaning "a part added on". So nickname did not originally denote a shortened name, but any name in addition to your formal name. The usage "an abbreviated name" came later.
Although nick is of unknown origin, no one suspects it is related to eke.
Solution 4:
Middle English -ik, -ick, word-forming element making adjectives, "having to do with, having the nature of, being, made of, caused by, similar to," (OED)