Bynames

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. An additional name given to a person to describe them, such as a nickname or epithet added to or replacing their formal name
2. A supplementary name attached to someone, often based on a trait, deed or place, and used alongside or instead of their given name
3. Nicknames or descriptive titles added to a person's formal name, often reflecting a characteristic or reputation they have earned

Etymology: "Bynames" is the plural of "byname", a word built from "by" and "name" and meaning a name added to, or used alongside, a person's main name. The "by" here is the older sense of "by" meaning "secondary" or "additional," the same sense that survives in "bylaw" and "byway." A byname is therefore literally a secondary name, a second name hung on someone beside the first. The compound has close parallels across the Germanic languages. Dutch has "bijnaam" for a nickname, German has "Beiname" for a nickname or epithet, and Swedish, Danish and Norwegian have their own versions, such as "binamn" and "binavn." The shared pattern suggests that the idea of a supplementary name was common enough across these languages to be expressed in the same way.

Synonyms: nickname, sobriquet, epithet, moniker, alias