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{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2023}}
{{short description|Assumed or given nickname}}
{{sources|date=July 2023}}
A '''sobriquet''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|s|oʊ|b|r|ᵻ|k|eɪ}} {{respell|SOH|brik|ay}}), or '''soubriquet''', is a [[nickname]], sometimes assumed, but often given by another, that is descriptive. A sobriquet is distinct from a [[pseudonym]], as 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 language|Mongolian]]); and Mohandas Gandhi, who is better known as "[[Mahatma Gandhi|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]]".

== Etymology ==
{{Unreferenced section|date=August 2023}}

The modern French spelling is {{lang|fr|sobriquet}}. Two early variants of the term are found: {{lang|fr|soubriquet}} and {{lang|fr|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 {{lang|fr|sot}}, foolish, and the second part, {{lang|fr|briquet}}, is a French adaptation of Italian {{lang|it|brichetto}}, diminutive of {{lang|it|bricco}}, knave, possibly connected with {{lang|it|briccone}}, rogue, which is supposed to be a derivative of the [[German language|German]] {{lang|de|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 {{lang|fr|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'' ({{lang-la|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".<ref>{{Cite news |url=http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/honest-abe-wasnt-always-quite-so-honest-180962194/ |title=When Lincoln Was More a Politician Than an 'Honest Abe' |last=Mansky |first=Jackie |work=Smithsonian |date=16 February 2017 |access-date=26 September 2017}}</ref> Sobriquets have been used in writing and literature since as early as the [[Dead Sea Scrolls|dead sea scrolls]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Collins |first=Matthew A. |date=2009 |title=The Use of Sobriquets in the Qumran Dead Sea Scrolls |url=https://www.torrossa.com/it/resources/an/5215353 |language=it |pages=1–288}}</ref>

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<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/latestnews/2020/bbc-scotland-season-to-celebrate-billy-connolly |title=BBC Scotland season to celebrate Billy Connolly |publisher=BBC Media Centre |quote=A big celebration of the Big Yin is kicking off on the BBC Scotland channel. |date=2 May 2020 |access-date=5 October 2020}}</ref>
*The [[Big Apple]] – [[New York City]]
*The [[London (city)|Big Smoke]] – London
*Godzone – [[New Zealand]], from "God's own country"
*[[Albion]] – [[United Kingdom|Britain]]
*[[Columbia (personification)|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]] – [[Journalist|the press]]
*[[Names of Japan|Land of the Rising Sun]] – [[Japan]]
*[[Names of the Philippines|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.")<ref>{{cite web |title=Uncle Sam |url=https://www.etymonline.com/word/uncle%20sam |access-date=8 October 2020}}</ref>
*Uncle Joe – [[Joseph Stalin]]
*The Sun King – [[Louis XIV of France]]
*Papa Doc – [[François Duvalier]], 34th president of Haiti
*The [[Sage (philosophy)|Sage]] of [[Chelsea, London|Chelsea]] – [[Thomas Carlyle]], Scots philosopher
*[[The war to end all wars|The War to End All Wars]] – [[World War I]]; since [[World War II]], used ironically
*[[Windy City (nickname)|The Windy City]] – Chicago, Illinois
*[[Detroit|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 ==
=== Citations ===
{{Reflist}}

=== Sources ===
{{refbegin}}
*{{EB1911 |wstitle = Sobriquet }}
{{refend}}

== External links ==
*{{Wiktionary-inline}}

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{{Personal names}}

[[Category:Nicknames| ]]
[[Category:Semantics]]
[[Category:Word play]]

Sobriquet - Revision history

Ajay Kumar: Created a new article