hypocorism

UK:**UK and possibly other pronunciationsUK and possibly other pronunciations/haɪˈpɒkəˌrɪzəm/US:USA pronunciation: respellingUSA pronunciation: respelling(hī pok′ə riz′əm, hi-)


WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026
hy•poc•o•rism  (hī pok′ə riz′əm, hi-),USA pronunciation n. 
  1. a pet name.
  2. the practice of using a pet name.
  3. the use of forms of speech imitative of baby talk, esp. by an adult.
  • Greek hypokórisma pet name. See hypocoristic, -ism
  • 1840–50

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
hypocorism /haɪˈpɒkəˌrɪzəm/, hypocorisma /haɪˌpɒkəˈrɪzmə/ n
  1. a pet name, esp one using a diminutive affix: "Sally" is a hypocorism for "Sarah"
  2. another word for euphemism
Etymology: 19th Century: from Greek hupokorisma, from hupokorizesthai to use pet names, from hypo- beneath + korizesthai, from korē girl, koros boyhypocoristic /ˌhaɪpəkəˈrɪstɪk/, hypocoristical /ˌhaɪpəkəˈrɪstɪkəl/ adj

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