A sobriquet (/ˈsoʊbrɪˌkeɪ, -ˌkɛt, ˌsoʊbrɪˈkeɪ, -ˈkɛt/ SOH-brih-kay, -⁠ket, -⁠KAY, -⁠KET), or soubriquet, is a nickname, sometimes assumed, but often given by another, that is descriptive. A sobriquet is distinct from a pseudonym in that it is typically a familiar name used in place of a real name without the need of explanation, and it often becomes more familiar than the original name.

The term sobriquet may apply to the nickname for a specific person, group of people, or place. Examples are "Emiye Menelik", a name of Emperor Menelik II of Ethiopia, who was popularly and affectionately recognized for his kindness ("emiye" means "mother" in Amharic); "Genghis Khan", who now is rarely recognized by his original name Temüjin ("Genghis Khan" means "universal ruler" in Mongolian); and Mohandas Gandhi, who is better known as "Mahatma" Gandhi ("mahatma" means "great soul" in Sanskrit). Well-known places often have sobriquets, such as New York City, often referred to as the "Big Apple", or Rome, nicknamed the "Eternal City".

Etymology

The modern French spelling is sobriquet. Two early variants of the term are found: soubriquet and sotbriquet. The first early spelling variant, "soubriquet", remains in use and is considered the likely origin.

The second early spelling variant suggests derivation from the initial form sot, foolish, and the second part, briquet, is a French adaptation of Italian brichetto, diminutive of bricco, knave, possibly connected with briccone, rogue, which is supposed to be a derivative of the German brechen, to break; but the philologist Walter William Skeat considers this spelling to be an example of false etymology and argues the real origin should be sought in the form soubriquet.

Émile Littré gives an early-14th-century soubsbriquet as meaning a chuck under the chin, and this would be derived from soubs, mod. sous (Latin: sub), under, and briquet or bruchel, the brisket, or lower part of the throat.

Use

Sobriquets often are found in music, sports, comedy and politics. Candidates and political figures often are branded with sobriquets, either while living or posthumously. For example, president of the United States Abraham Lincoln came to be known as "Honest Abe".^[1] Sobriquets have been used in writing and literature since as early as the dead sea scrolls.^[2]

In the A Dictionary of Modern English Usage (1926), Henry Watson Fowler warned: "Now the sobriquet habit is not a thing to be acquired, but a thing to be avoided; & the selection that follows is compiled for the purpose not of assisting but of discouraging it." He included the sobriquet among what he termed the "battered ornaments" of the language, but opinion on their use varies. Sobriquets remain a common feature of speech today.

Examples

• The King (of rock and roll) – Elvis Presley, famous vocalist and musician
• The Lion City – Singapore, the city-state, also known as Little Red Dot, The Garden City
• The Big Yin – Billy Connolly, Glaswegian comedian commonly referred to as "The Big Yin", meaning "The Big One" in Scots^[3]
• The Big Apple – New York City
• The Big Smoke – London or Toronto
• Godzone – New Zealand, from "God's own country"
• Albion – Britain
• The Land of the Rising Sun – Japan
• Columbia – The United States or the Americas, poetic name
• Dixie, Dixieland (from the Mason–Dixon line) – the eleven Southern states that seceded and fought against the U.S. in the American Civil War
• The Fourth Estate – the press
• Pearl of the Orient – the Philippines, referring to its location in the Southeast Asia (or the East, with "Orient" meaning "East")
• Graveyard of Empires – Afghanistan
• Uncle Sam – the U.S. in general or specifically, its government (likely from the initials "U.S.")^[4]
• John Bull – the UK in general or specifically, its government (originally an attack against the Whigs, their foreign policy, and their financiers who were profiting from wars with other nations).
• Uncle Joe – Joseph Stalin
• The Sun King – Louis XIV of France
• Papa Doc – François Duvalier, 34th president of Haiti
• The Sage of Chelsea – Thomas Carlyle, Scots philosopher
• The War to End All Wars – World War I; since World War II, used ironically
• The Windy City – Chicago, Illinois
• The Motor City – Detroit, Michigan
• Man's best friend – dogs, derived from the origins of dogs, it indicates the relationship that has developed between the two species as they have each evolved to form a symbiotic relationship that is unique among human relationships to domestic animals.

References

External links

• The dictionary definition of sobriquet at Wiktionary