Hypocorism

Pronunciation

• IPA: haɪˈpÉ’.kəˌrɪ.zÉ™m

Origin

Late Latin hypocorisma, a loan from Ancient Greek noun ὑποκόρισμα from the verb ὑποκορίζομαι (hypokorízomai, "to talk in a childish manner"). The Ancient Greek verb ὑποκορίζομαι is compounded from ὑπό (hypo-, "under, beneath, secretly") + κορίζομαι (korízomai, "to caress"). In the verb you can see the word κόρος (kóros, "boy") or κόρη (kórē, "girl").

Full definition of hypocorism

Noun

1. A term of endearment; a pet name.
• 2003, Mark Steven Morton, The Lover's Tongue, Cabbage, however, has enjoyed unlikely success as a hypocorism, a usage that dates back to the mid nineteenth century; this usage arose as a direct translation of chou, which French lovers had been calling each other for a long time: "Oh, mon petit chou"—"Oh, my little cabbage."
2. Baby-talk, e.g. bow-wow for dog, choo-choo for train.

Synonyms

• nickname
• pet name
• sobriquet

Derived terms

• hypocoristic
• hypocoristical
• hypocoristically