

Sep 24, 2013 This week's theme

Words about words



This week's words

shibboleth

hypocorism

polysemous

lapsus linguae

paregmenon

Words about words A.Word.A.Day with Anu Garg



hypocorism PRONUNCIATION: (hy-POK-uh-riz-uhm, hi-)

MEANING: noun

1. A pet name.

2. The practice of using pet names.

ETYMOLOGY: From Greek hypokorisma (pet name), from hypo- (under) + kor- (child). Ultimately from Indo-European root ker- (to grow), which is also the source of other words such as increase, recruit, crew, crescent, cereal, concrete, crescendo, sincere, and Spanish crecer (to grow). Earliest documented use: 1850.

USAGE: "This must be an offshoot of my brother's enthusiasm for hypocorism. He was always inventing idiotic nicknames for people."

Adam Davies; Goodbye Lemon; Riverhead; 2006.

See more usage examples of hypocorism in Vocabulary.com's dictionary.



A THOUGHT FOR TODAY: Show me a hero and I will write you a tragedy. -F. Scott Fitzgerald, novelist (1896-1940)





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