hypocorism

hy·poc·o·rism

(hī-pŏk′ə-rĭz′əm, hī′pə-kôr′ĭz′əm)

1. A name of endearment; a pet name.

2. The use of such names.

[Late Latin hypocorisma, from Greek hupokorisma, from hupokorizesthai, to call by endearing names : hupo-, beneath, secretly; see hypo- + korizesthai, to caress (from koros, boy or korē, girl; see ker- in Indo-European roots).]

hy′po·co·ris′tic (hī′pə-kə-rĭs′tĭk) adj. & n.

hy′po·co·ris′ti·cal·ly adv.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

hypocorism

(haɪˈpɒkəˌrɪzəm) or

hypocorisma

1. (Linguistics) a pet name, esp one using a diminutive affix: "Sally" is a hypocorism for "Sarah".

2. (Linguistics) another word for euphemism¹

[C19: from Greek hupokorisma, from hupokorizesthai to use pet names, from hypo- beneath + korizesthai, from korē girl, koros boy]

hypocoristic, hypocoristical adj

ˌhypocoˈristically adv

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

hy•poc•o•rism

(haɪˈpɒk əˌrɪz əm)

n.

1. a pet name.

2. the use of pet names.

3. the use of forms imitative of baby talk.

[1840–50; < Greek hypokórisma pet name. See hypocoristic, -ism]

hypocorism

1. the creation or use of pet names, as Dick for Richard.
2. a pet name.
3. baby talk. — hypocoristic, adj.

See also: Names

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

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Noun

hypocorism - a name of endearment (especially one using a diminutive suffix); "`Billy' is a hypocorism for `William'"

pet name

name - a language unit by which a person or thing is known; "his name really is George Washington"; "those are two names for the same thing"

Translations

υποκοριστικό

hipocorístico

hipokoristikodmilica

ipocoristico

hipocorístico

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References in periodicals archive ?

We know names such as Nouren [phrase omitted], "Rabbit's benevolence"; Nouzi [phrase omitted], "Rabbit's son"; Nouxiang [phrase omitted], "Rabbit's girl"; and Nouzhu [phrase omitted], "Rabbit's pearl[-like daughter]." (40) We also have a hypocorism, Anou [phrase omitted].

"Godly Worm" and the "Literati Prism" of Chinese Sources

WHY do people in Liverpool shorten words (a practice technically known as hypocorism, as noted in the last article)?

A world of 'plazzymorphs'

I expressed to Joshua my extreme distaste for his hypocorism. He just chuckled and said, "You do you, and I'll do me."

The Museum of Broken Relationships

He also demonstrates that the diminutive from 'child' "lies at the heart of many pragmatic uses of diminutive suffixes", including "hypocorism, patronymics, names of tribes, countries, and languages, various kinds of nominalizations and assorted metaphorical formations [e.g., contempt or affection], words of approximation, and often as a general method of producing new adjectives or nouns" (1996: 565).

On the origin of the English diminutive suffix -y, -ie

Technically called 'hypocorism', it can apply to everything from people's names (there was an Australian player in the World Cup called 'Leckie' - presumably his full name was 'Electricity'), to places, things - almost anything in fact.