What is it called when one person calls another something they metaphorically resemble?



.everyoneloves__top-leaderboard:empty,.everyoneloves__mid-leaderboard:empty margin-bottom:0;







up vote
4
down vote

favorite












What name or word would be given for the examples below, metaphor?



  1. A mother calls her child cat, or tiger

  2. The wife calls her husband "Hey Baby".

  3. You're my moon.

  4. A very muscular person might be called "He's solid".

Basically there's extreme likeness to the other object and the person gets called by that name.



But this one turned into a weird argument; I have a black friend and he loves to be in the dark. He likes having lights turned off, so I said to him "... Yeah dark guy." But this is only following the above examples as well.










share|improve this question



















  • 1




    This question needs a better title.
    – Dennis Williamson
    2 days ago






  • 1




    @DennisWilliamson: I've tried to suggest a better title with my suggested edit, though I'm sure it could be improved.
    – V2Blast
    2 days ago










  • better title? "What is this called? A person is named after a trait or resemblance"
    – PatrickT
    2 days ago
















up vote
4
down vote

favorite












What name or word would be given for the examples below, metaphor?



  1. A mother calls her child cat, or tiger

  2. The wife calls her husband "Hey Baby".

  3. You're my moon.

  4. A very muscular person might be called "He's solid".

Basically there's extreme likeness to the other object and the person gets called by that name.



But this one turned into a weird argument; I have a black friend and he loves to be in the dark. He likes having lights turned off, so I said to him "... Yeah dark guy." But this is only following the above examples as well.










share|improve this question



















  • 1




    This question needs a better title.
    – Dennis Williamson
    2 days ago






  • 1




    @DennisWilliamson: I've tried to suggest a better title with my suggested edit, though I'm sure it could be improved.
    – V2Blast
    2 days ago










  • better title? "What is this called? A person is named after a trait or resemblance"
    – PatrickT
    2 days ago












up vote
4
down vote

favorite









up vote
4
down vote

favorite











What name or word would be given for the examples below, metaphor?



  1. A mother calls her child cat, or tiger

  2. The wife calls her husband "Hey Baby".

  3. You're my moon.

  4. A very muscular person might be called "He's solid".

Basically there's extreme likeness to the other object and the person gets called by that name.



But this one turned into a weird argument; I have a black friend and he loves to be in the dark. He likes having lights turned off, so I said to him "... Yeah dark guy." But this is only following the above examples as well.










share|improve this question















What name or word would be given for the examples below, metaphor?



  1. A mother calls her child cat, or tiger

  2. The wife calls her husband "Hey Baby".

  3. You're my moon.

  4. A very muscular person might be called "He's solid".

Basically there's extreme likeness to the other object and the person gets called by that name.



But this one turned into a weird argument; I have a black friend and he loves to be in the dark. He likes having lights turned off, so I said to him "... Yeah dark guy." But this is only following the above examples as well.







linguistics






share|improve this question















share|improve this question













share|improve this question




share|improve this question








edited 2 days ago









V2Blast

12918




12918










asked Nov 9 at 11:12









Noman

1434




1434







  • 1




    This question needs a better title.
    – Dennis Williamson
    2 days ago






  • 1




    @DennisWilliamson: I've tried to suggest a better title with my suggested edit, though I'm sure it could be improved.
    – V2Blast
    2 days ago










  • better title? "What is this called? A person is named after a trait or resemblance"
    – PatrickT
    2 days ago












  • 1




    This question needs a better title.
    – Dennis Williamson
    2 days ago






  • 1




    @DennisWilliamson: I've tried to suggest a better title with my suggested edit, though I'm sure it could be improved.
    – V2Blast
    2 days ago










  • better title? "What is this called? A person is named after a trait or resemblance"
    – PatrickT
    2 days ago







1




1




This question needs a better title.
– Dennis Williamson
2 days ago




This question needs a better title.
– Dennis Williamson
2 days ago




1




1




@DennisWilliamson: I've tried to suggest a better title with my suggested edit, though I'm sure it could be improved.
– V2Blast
2 days ago




@DennisWilliamson: I've tried to suggest a better title with my suggested edit, though I'm sure it could be improved.
– V2Blast
2 days ago












better title? "What is this called? A person is named after a trait or resemblance"
– PatrickT
2 days ago




better title? "What is this called? A person is named after a trait or resemblance"
– PatrickT
2 days ago










4 Answers
4






active

oldest

votes

















up vote
7
down vote



accepted










When a person is given a name corresponding to an attribute of that person, or a thing is named by something closely associated with it, it's called "metonymy." Only the last of your examples seems to be metonymy, however, and even then it's not an obvious example of it.



The first three seem to be examples of a "pet name" if it's regularly used, or a "term of endearment" if it's used only occasionally. As I understand and use the terms, a pet name is a term of endearment that becomes a sort of private nickname.



(The third is a clear example of metaphor, but I'm guessing you weren't asking about that.)






share|improve this answer










New contributor




Philip Antin is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.

















  • Welcome to Stack Exchange! Please support your answer by including references, such as links from online dictionaries for the definitions you provided.
    – miltonaut
    2 days ago










  • This is exactly what I was looking for, thank you. "When a person is given a name corresponding to an attribute of that person, or a thing is named by something closely associated with it, it's called "metonymy." "
    – Noman
    2 days ago


















up vote
11
down vote













Your first three examples are of terms of endearment.



The fourth is simply a description, rather than a name, although "Solid" alone could be used as a nickname, based on physical characteristics.



What you called your friend is possibly in the category of being a nickname, based on habit or personality. Unfortunately, when spoken, your chosen term of "dark guy" sounds very like "darky", an ethnic slur that was historically used against black people (and probably still is). I can understand why he was unhappy to be called that.



Some general advice: do not give people nicknames. They're rarely appreciated by the recipient. If someone has a nickname that they're happy with, they'll tell you it.






share|improve this answer








New contributor




KrisW is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
























    up vote
    8
    down vote













    A more intimate nick-name like this is a pet name




    an informal name given to someone by their family or friends




    https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/pet-name






    share|improve this answer








    New contributor




    James Random is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
    Check out our Code of Conduct.
























      up vote
      0
      down vote













      I would go with pet-name as the above answers suggest, but if you wanted a single word, you can also use Hypocoristic, which can be both an adjective describing the name ("she liked the hypocristic name he gave her") or a noun for the name itself ("he would always call her by her hypocristic"):




      Hypocoristic



      Of the nature of a pet-name; pertaining to the habit of using endearing or euphemistic terms.







      share|improve this answer




















        Your Answer








        StackExchange.ready(function()
        var channelOptions =
        tags: "".split(" "),
        id: "97"
        ;
        initTagRenderer("".split(" "), "".split(" "), channelOptions);

        StackExchange.using("externalEditor", function()
        // Have to fire editor after snippets, if snippets enabled
        if (StackExchange.settings.snippets.snippetsEnabled)
        StackExchange.using("snippets", function()
        createEditor();
        );

        else
        createEditor();

        );

        function createEditor()
        StackExchange.prepareEditor(
        heartbeatType: 'answer',
        convertImagesToLinks: false,
        noModals: true,
        showLowRepImageUploadWarning: true,
        reputationToPostImages: null,
        bindNavPrevention: true,
        postfix: "",
        imageUploader:
        brandingHtml: "Powered by u003ca class="icon-imgur-white" href="https://imgur.com/"u003eu003c/au003e",
        contentPolicyHtml: "User contributions licensed under u003ca href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/"u003ecc by-sa 3.0 with attribution requiredu003c/au003e u003ca href="https://stackoverflow.com/legal/content-policy"u003e(content policy)u003c/au003e",
        allowUrls: true
        ,
        noCode: true, onDemand: true,
        discardSelector: ".discard-answer"
        ,immediatelyShowMarkdownHelp:true
        );



        );













         

        draft saved


        draft discarded


















        StackExchange.ready(
        function ()
        StackExchange.openid.initPostLogin('.new-post-login', 'https%3a%2f%2fenglish.stackexchange.com%2fquestions%2f472200%2fwhat-is-it-called-when-one-person-calls-another-something-they-metaphorically-re%23new-answer', 'question_page');

        );

        Post as a guest






























        4 Answers
        4






        active

        oldest

        votes








        4 Answers
        4






        active

        oldest

        votes









        active

        oldest

        votes






        active

        oldest

        votes








        up vote
        7
        down vote



        accepted










        When a person is given a name corresponding to an attribute of that person, or a thing is named by something closely associated with it, it's called "metonymy." Only the last of your examples seems to be metonymy, however, and even then it's not an obvious example of it.



        The first three seem to be examples of a "pet name" if it's regularly used, or a "term of endearment" if it's used only occasionally. As I understand and use the terms, a pet name is a term of endearment that becomes a sort of private nickname.



        (The third is a clear example of metaphor, but I'm guessing you weren't asking about that.)






        share|improve this answer










        New contributor




        Philip Antin is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
        Check out our Code of Conduct.

















        • Welcome to Stack Exchange! Please support your answer by including references, such as links from online dictionaries for the definitions you provided.
          – miltonaut
          2 days ago










        • This is exactly what I was looking for, thank you. "When a person is given a name corresponding to an attribute of that person, or a thing is named by something closely associated with it, it's called "metonymy." "
          – Noman
          2 days ago















        up vote
        7
        down vote



        accepted










        When a person is given a name corresponding to an attribute of that person, or a thing is named by something closely associated with it, it's called "metonymy." Only the last of your examples seems to be metonymy, however, and even then it's not an obvious example of it.



        The first three seem to be examples of a "pet name" if it's regularly used, or a "term of endearment" if it's used only occasionally. As I understand and use the terms, a pet name is a term of endearment that becomes a sort of private nickname.



        (The third is a clear example of metaphor, but I'm guessing you weren't asking about that.)






        share|improve this answer










        New contributor




        Philip Antin is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
        Check out our Code of Conduct.

















        • Welcome to Stack Exchange! Please support your answer by including references, such as links from online dictionaries for the definitions you provided.
          – miltonaut
          2 days ago










        • This is exactly what I was looking for, thank you. "When a person is given a name corresponding to an attribute of that person, or a thing is named by something closely associated with it, it's called "metonymy." "
          – Noman
          2 days ago













        up vote
        7
        down vote



        accepted







        up vote
        7
        down vote



        accepted






        When a person is given a name corresponding to an attribute of that person, or a thing is named by something closely associated with it, it's called "metonymy." Only the last of your examples seems to be metonymy, however, and even then it's not an obvious example of it.



        The first three seem to be examples of a "pet name" if it's regularly used, or a "term of endearment" if it's used only occasionally. As I understand and use the terms, a pet name is a term of endearment that becomes a sort of private nickname.



        (The third is a clear example of metaphor, but I'm guessing you weren't asking about that.)






        share|improve this answer










        New contributor




        Philip Antin is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
        Check out our Code of Conduct.









        When a person is given a name corresponding to an attribute of that person, or a thing is named by something closely associated with it, it's called "metonymy." Only the last of your examples seems to be metonymy, however, and even then it's not an obvious example of it.



        The first three seem to be examples of a "pet name" if it's regularly used, or a "term of endearment" if it's used only occasionally. As I understand and use the terms, a pet name is a term of endearment that becomes a sort of private nickname.



        (The third is a clear example of metaphor, but I'm guessing you weren't asking about that.)







        share|improve this answer










        New contributor




        Philip Antin is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
        Check out our Code of Conduct.









        share|improve this answer



        share|improve this answer








        edited 2 days ago





















        New contributor




        Philip Antin is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
        Check out our Code of Conduct.









        answered 2 days ago









        Philip Antin

        864




        864




        New contributor




        Philip Antin is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
        Check out our Code of Conduct.





        New contributor





        Philip Antin is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
        Check out our Code of Conduct.






        Philip Antin is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
        Check out our Code of Conduct.











        • Welcome to Stack Exchange! Please support your answer by including references, such as links from online dictionaries for the definitions you provided.
          – miltonaut
          2 days ago










        • This is exactly what I was looking for, thank you. "When a person is given a name corresponding to an attribute of that person, or a thing is named by something closely associated with it, it's called "metonymy." "
          – Noman
          2 days ago

















        • Welcome to Stack Exchange! Please support your answer by including references, such as links from online dictionaries for the definitions you provided.
          – miltonaut
          2 days ago










        • This is exactly what I was looking for, thank you. "When a person is given a name corresponding to an attribute of that person, or a thing is named by something closely associated with it, it's called "metonymy." "
          – Noman
          2 days ago
















        Welcome to Stack Exchange! Please support your answer by including references, such as links from online dictionaries for the definitions you provided.
        – miltonaut
        2 days ago




        Welcome to Stack Exchange! Please support your answer by including references, such as links from online dictionaries for the definitions you provided.
        – miltonaut
        2 days ago












        This is exactly what I was looking for, thank you. "When a person is given a name corresponding to an attribute of that person, or a thing is named by something closely associated with it, it's called "metonymy." "
        – Noman
        2 days ago





        This is exactly what I was looking for, thank you. "When a person is given a name corresponding to an attribute of that person, or a thing is named by something closely associated with it, it's called "metonymy." "
        – Noman
        2 days ago













        up vote
        11
        down vote













        Your first three examples are of terms of endearment.



        The fourth is simply a description, rather than a name, although "Solid" alone could be used as a nickname, based on physical characteristics.



        What you called your friend is possibly in the category of being a nickname, based on habit or personality. Unfortunately, when spoken, your chosen term of "dark guy" sounds very like "darky", an ethnic slur that was historically used against black people (and probably still is). I can understand why he was unhappy to be called that.



        Some general advice: do not give people nicknames. They're rarely appreciated by the recipient. If someone has a nickname that they're happy with, they'll tell you it.






        share|improve this answer








        New contributor




        KrisW is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
        Check out our Code of Conduct.





















          up vote
          11
          down vote













          Your first three examples are of terms of endearment.



          The fourth is simply a description, rather than a name, although "Solid" alone could be used as a nickname, based on physical characteristics.



          What you called your friend is possibly in the category of being a nickname, based on habit or personality. Unfortunately, when spoken, your chosen term of "dark guy" sounds very like "darky", an ethnic slur that was historically used against black people (and probably still is). I can understand why he was unhappy to be called that.



          Some general advice: do not give people nicknames. They're rarely appreciated by the recipient. If someone has a nickname that they're happy with, they'll tell you it.






          share|improve this answer








          New contributor




          KrisW is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
          Check out our Code of Conduct.



















            up vote
            11
            down vote










            up vote
            11
            down vote









            Your first three examples are of terms of endearment.



            The fourth is simply a description, rather than a name, although "Solid" alone could be used as a nickname, based on physical characteristics.



            What you called your friend is possibly in the category of being a nickname, based on habit or personality. Unfortunately, when spoken, your chosen term of "dark guy" sounds very like "darky", an ethnic slur that was historically used against black people (and probably still is). I can understand why he was unhappy to be called that.



            Some general advice: do not give people nicknames. They're rarely appreciated by the recipient. If someone has a nickname that they're happy with, they'll tell you it.






            share|improve this answer








            New contributor




            KrisW is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
            Check out our Code of Conduct.









            Your first three examples are of terms of endearment.



            The fourth is simply a description, rather than a name, although "Solid" alone could be used as a nickname, based on physical characteristics.



            What you called your friend is possibly in the category of being a nickname, based on habit or personality. Unfortunately, when spoken, your chosen term of "dark guy" sounds very like "darky", an ethnic slur that was historically used against black people (and probably still is). I can understand why he was unhappy to be called that.



            Some general advice: do not give people nicknames. They're rarely appreciated by the recipient. If someone has a nickname that they're happy with, they'll tell you it.







            share|improve this answer








            New contributor




            KrisW is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
            Check out our Code of Conduct.









            share|improve this answer



            share|improve this answer






            New contributor




            KrisW is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
            Check out our Code of Conduct.









            answered Nov 9 at 12:57









            KrisW

            5127




            5127




            New contributor




            KrisW is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
            Check out our Code of Conduct.





            New contributor





            KrisW is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
            Check out our Code of Conduct.






            KrisW is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
            Check out our Code of Conduct.




















                up vote
                8
                down vote













                A more intimate nick-name like this is a pet name




                an informal name given to someone by their family or friends




                https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/pet-name






                share|improve this answer








                New contributor




                James Random is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
                Check out our Code of Conduct.





















                  up vote
                  8
                  down vote













                  A more intimate nick-name like this is a pet name




                  an informal name given to someone by their family or friends




                  https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/pet-name






                  share|improve this answer








                  New contributor




                  James Random is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
                  Check out our Code of Conduct.



















                    up vote
                    8
                    down vote










                    up vote
                    8
                    down vote









                    A more intimate nick-name like this is a pet name




                    an informal name given to someone by their family or friends




                    https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/pet-name






                    share|improve this answer








                    New contributor




                    James Random is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
                    Check out our Code of Conduct.









                    A more intimate nick-name like this is a pet name




                    an informal name given to someone by their family or friends




                    https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/pet-name







                    share|improve this answer








                    New contributor




                    James Random is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
                    Check out our Code of Conduct.









                    share|improve this answer



                    share|improve this answer






                    New contributor




                    James Random is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
                    Check out our Code of Conduct.









                    answered Nov 9 at 12:28









                    James Random

                    1812




                    1812




                    New contributor




                    James Random is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
                    Check out our Code of Conduct.





                    New contributor





                    James Random is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
                    Check out our Code of Conduct.






                    James Random is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
                    Check out our Code of Conduct.




















                        up vote
                        0
                        down vote













                        I would go with pet-name as the above answers suggest, but if you wanted a single word, you can also use Hypocoristic, which can be both an adjective describing the name ("she liked the hypocristic name he gave her") or a noun for the name itself ("he would always call her by her hypocristic"):




                        Hypocoristic



                        Of the nature of a pet-name; pertaining to the habit of using endearing or euphemistic terms.







                        share|improve this answer
























                          up vote
                          0
                          down vote













                          I would go with pet-name as the above answers suggest, but if you wanted a single word, you can also use Hypocoristic, which can be both an adjective describing the name ("she liked the hypocristic name he gave her") or a noun for the name itself ("he would always call her by her hypocristic"):




                          Hypocoristic



                          Of the nature of a pet-name; pertaining to the habit of using endearing or euphemistic terms.







                          share|improve this answer






















                            up vote
                            0
                            down vote










                            up vote
                            0
                            down vote









                            I would go with pet-name as the above answers suggest, but if you wanted a single word, you can also use Hypocoristic, which can be both an adjective describing the name ("she liked the hypocristic name he gave her") or a noun for the name itself ("he would always call her by her hypocristic"):




                            Hypocoristic



                            Of the nature of a pet-name; pertaining to the habit of using endearing or euphemistic terms.







                            share|improve this answer












                            I would go with pet-name as the above answers suggest, but if you wanted a single word, you can also use Hypocoristic, which can be both an adjective describing the name ("she liked the hypocristic name he gave her") or a noun for the name itself ("he would always call her by her hypocristic"):




                            Hypocoristic



                            Of the nature of a pet-name; pertaining to the habit of using endearing or euphemistic terms.








                            share|improve this answer












                            share|improve this answer



                            share|improve this answer










                            answered 2 days ago









                            scohe001

                            1,9571019




                            1,9571019



























                                 

                                draft saved


                                draft discarded















































                                 


                                draft saved


                                draft discarded














                                StackExchange.ready(
                                function ()
                                StackExchange.openid.initPostLogin('.new-post-login', 'https%3a%2f%2fenglish.stackexchange.com%2fquestions%2f472200%2fwhat-is-it-called-when-one-person-calls-another-something-they-metaphorically-re%23new-answer', 'question_page');

                                );

                                Post as a guest














































































                                這個網誌中的熱門文章

                                What does pagestruct do in Eviews?

                                Dutch intervention in Lombok and Karangasem

                                Channel Islands