sobriquet

English

WOTD – 16 February 2009

Alternative forms

• soubriquet

Etymology

Borrowed from French sobriquet (“nickname”), from Middle French soubriquet (“a chuck under the chin”).

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈsəʊ.bɹɪ.keɪ/
• (US) enPR: ʹsōbrĭkā, ʹsōbrĭkĕt, IPA^(key): /ˈsoʊ.bɹɪ.keɪ/, /ˈsoʊ.bɹɪ.kɛt/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

  ,

  Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -eɪ

Noun

sobriquet (plural sobriquets)

1. A familiar name for a person (typically a shortened version of a person’s given name).

   Synonyms: cognomen, moniker, nickname

   “The Bard” is a sobriquet of English playwright William Shakespeare.

   • 1862, A. Banning Norton

     The sobriquet of Johnny Appleseed attached to him, though his real name was Chapman, in consequence of his being ever engaged in gathering and planting appleseed and cultivating nurseries of apple trees.

Synonyms

• byname
• to-name

Translations

familiar name for a person

• Czech: přezdívka (cs) f
• Dutch: bijnaam (nl)
• Finnish: lempinimi (fi)
• French: sobriquet (fr) m, surnom familier m
• German: Beiname (de) m, Spitzname (de) m
• Greek: χαϊδευτικό (el) n (chaïdeftikó)

• Ido: surnomacho (io)
• Polish: przydomek (pl) m, przezwisko (pl) n
• Portuguese: alcunha (pt) f
• Russian: про́звище (ru) n (prózvišče), прозва́ние (ru) n (prozvánije)
• Scottish Gaelic: frith-ainm m
• Spanish: sobrenombre (es) m

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French

Etymology

Origin unknown.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /sɔbʁikɛ/

• Audio

  (file)

Noun

sobriquet m (plural sobriquets)

1. nickname

Further reading

• “sobriquet” in le Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).