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HelpDimunitives and nicknames are rather different.
in reply to a message by Julia
You do realize that, I hope?
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http://www.behindthename.com/glossary/view/nickname
http://www.behindthename.com/glossary/view/diminutive
They're the same thing, as far as I can see.
http://www.behindthename.com/glossary/view/diminutive
They're the same thing, as far as I can see.
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I don't entirely agree. According to the glossary of this site, a diminutive is a short, affectionate form of a name. A nickname is " a substitute for a person's real name...more familiar, more descriptive, or shorter than the person's real name".
Those sound basically the same to me. Unless you're talking about nicknames like Shorty or Rusty, which were not what I was referring to.
If there's some kind of hidden difference I would love to know about it.
Edited because I can't spell.
Those sound basically the same to me. Unless you're talking about nicknames like Shorty or Rusty, which were not what I was referring to.
If there's some kind of hidden difference I would love to know about it.
Edited because I can't spell.
This message was edited 9/7/2008, 8:41 PM
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I don't see much difference either
Unless you imply that, as Julia also pointed out, nicknames might have nothing to do with the name, but may refer to a physical trait, personality, job,or something randon. (eg someone being called Red because of their hair colour). So, all diminutives are nicknames, but a nickname isn't necessarily a diminutive, but we hardly ever talk about non-name derived nicknames here, more about diminutives.
But I'm curious as well if there's something else I'm not getting.
Unless you imply that, as Julia also pointed out, nicknames might have nothing to do with the name, but may refer to a physical trait, personality, job,or something randon. (eg someone being called Red because of their hair colour). So, all diminutives are nicknames, but a nickname isn't necessarily a diminutive, but we hardly ever talk about non-name derived nicknames here, more about diminutives.
But I'm curious as well if there's something else I'm not getting.
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