noun 1. A pet name or diminutive form of a name.
adjective 1. Of the nature of a pet name or diminutive form of a name.
EXAMPLE SENTENCES
"She thought it was too soon to use a hypocoristic name with her new boyfriend."
"The father of eight came up with a hypocoristic for each child."
"Jonathan's family calls him by the hypocoristic Johnny."
Greek, mid-19th century
Why This Word?
The appearance of this word doesn't match the simple definition. "Hypocoristic" (used as either a noun or an adjective) refers to a pet name or shortened version of someone's name. A hypocoristic might be "sweetie," or it could be "Carrie" instead of "Caroline.
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