hypocorism
\ hahy-POK-uh-riz-uhm, hi- \, noun;
1.a pet name.
2.the practice of using a pet name.
3.the use of forms of speech imitative of baby talk, especially by an adult.
Quotes:
This must be an offshoot of my brother's enthusiasm for hypocorism . He was always inventing idiotic nicknames for people.
-- Adam Davies, "Goodbye Lemon ," 2006
Powsoddy, a now obsolete name for a pudding, was also used as a hypocorism in the late sixteenth century, paralleling the affectionate use of the word pudding itself in our own century, though lovers usually alter the pronunciation to puddin.
-- Mark Morton, "The Lover's Tongue ," 2003
Origin:
Hypocorism entered English in the 1840s from the Greek word hypokórisma meaning "pet name." It came from the verb hypokor(ízesthai) meaning "to play the child, call by endearing names."
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