Questions tagged [hypocorisms]
Substitute names used as affectionate substitutes for the real name. Sometimes these are completely different like "honey" or "sweetie", but sometimes they are affectionate diminutives like "Jimmy" for "James".
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How common are hypocorisms ending with "s" in female names? (Babs, Bess, Becks...)
My question can be split in two parts:
Is this a pattern, how common is it, and how natural does it sound?
Is it more specific to feminine names?
Here are examples:
Barbara - Babs [1]
Elizabeth - ...
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Opposite of endearment terms - does it exist, and/or have a name?
Does the English language have any way to apply the reverse of endearment or diminution to a word - that is, make it sound big, dangerous, ugly, intense? "Pig" turns into "piggy" ...
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What did the word "Ade" mean in the English of a hundred years ago?
Saw this in the news today and think I see the word Ade, but have never seen it before. Is it Ade? Or Ode? Wde? What does it mean? Is it an abbreviation?
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Could "Terry" be a diminutive for Peter or Walter?
I know "Terry" is used as a given name, and derives from french Thierry. It could also be used as a nickname for e.g. Terence. Here the first syllable of the given name is used as the stem in the ...
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Is it common to call our mother with ma'am in the western U.S? [closed]
Is it common to call our mother with ma'am in the western U.S.? Does it show how close our relationship is with our mother?
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Feminine form of “son” when used as term of endearment [duplicate]
It seems natural and appropriate for an older man to call a non-relative boy/young man “son” to convey endearment. Although I’m not sure, I think it’s unofficially reserved for men’s use only (the ...
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Comma placement after [greeting] and a [term of endearment]
Long-time lurker, first-time poster.
When addressing someone with a term of endearment and a greeting, how does comma placement work?
The reason why other questions didn't work in answering this was ...
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Are capital letters used for terms of endearment like "Honey" and "Sweetheart"?
When writing a sentence (for a book/story) do the endearments Honey, Sweetheart, etc. get capital letters? e.g. "Are you ready, Honey?" or "Are you ready, honey?"
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How did "Pork Chop" become a term of endearment? [closed]
Pork Chop is such an odd term of endearment, any idea what its origin is?
Update: For context, I heard the term used in two different contexts. The first was as a nick-name for my dog who is a large ...
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How did “pumpkin” come to be a term of endearment?
The logic of some terms of endearment is fairly clear. Sweetie, honey, cupcake all refer to food treats. However, the use of the term pumpkin as a tenderness seems somewhat counterintuitive. While ...
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Why do we call our lovers "baby"?
It is common in American English and culture to refer to one's lover or significant other as "baby" or "babe", for example:
Come on baby, light my fire! 1
or
I got you, I won't let go. I got ...
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What terms and expressions can be used in English to show one's love to his/her girlfriend/boyfriend? [closed]
I know in every language there are a lot of ways and cute names to address your girlfriend or your boyfriend to show you love her/him. The names can be creative for any couple. As Andy mentions these ...