sobriquet

Definition

A familiar name for a person or thing; a nickname (sometimes assumed by the person, but often given by others) that is descriptive.

Etymology

Borrowed from French sobriquet (“nickname”), from Middle French soubriquet (“a chuck under the chin”).

Example Sentences

• "“The Bard” is a sobriquet of English playwright William Shakespeare."
• "Tight quickly became a Jumeirah Jane—a sobriquet used as a caricature for non-working foreign women who live in Jumeirah, a posh part of the city, and spent their time driving kids to and from schools, shopping or meeting one another for lunch."
• "The sobriquet of Johnny Appleseed attached to him, though his real name was Chapman, in consequence of his being ever engaged in gathering and planting appleseed and cultivating nurseries of apple trees."