Birth of a nickname - John McWhorter
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Where do nicknames come from? Why are Ellens called Nellie and Edwards Ned? It’s all a big misunderstanding from the early days of the English language, a misunderstanding that even the word nickname itself derives from. John McWhorter tracks the accidental evolution of some familiar diminutives.
Try to think up other words beginning with n that could emerge in English if the dice had rolled differently. For example, olives could be nolives. Then, think of words that could lose their n – we could be eating with apkins, for example.
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- Educator John McWhorter
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