nickname

A nick name is a fake name which can replace your real name. They are can be coined by your friends or peers, by your enemies, or by yourself in an attempt to stay anonymous. They are often used on the Internet as nicks or as handles

Your nick name can be derived from almost anything, whether it be a basterized form of your real name, or from an inside joke understood only by your peers, or just picked randomly; the possibilities are endless.

Some famous nick names include:

A nickname was originally used instead of a surname until around the thirteenth century. The use is obvious, since there may be more than one Steven or Daniel or Albert in a town, a nickname would be applied to distinguish between Daniel the Blacksmith and Daniel of the wood. Eventually these evolved into surnames (Daniel Smith and Daniel Wood). The word nickname is derived from the old English "ekename" (as noted by Webster 1913), which translates as "also name."

Nick"name` (?), n. [OE. ekename surname, hence, a nickname, an ekename being understood as a nekename, influenced also by E. nick, v. See Eke, and Name.]

A name given in contempt, derision, or sportive familiarity; a familiar or an opprobrious appellation.

© Webster 1913.

Nick"name`, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Nicknamed (#); p. pr. & vb. n. Nicknaming.]

To give a nickname to; to call by a nickname.

You nickname virtue; vice you should have spoke. Shak.

I altogether disclaim what has been nicknamed the doctrine of finality. Macaulay.

© Webster 1913.