term of endearment

term of endearment

English

Noun

term of endearment (plural terms of endearment)

1. A word, phrase, or nickname used as a term of address expressing affection.
   • 1846, Charles Dickens, chapter 1, in Dombey and Son:

     The words had such a softening influence, that he appended a term of endearment to Mrs. Dombey's name (though not without some hesitation, as being a man but little used to that form of address): and said, ‘Mrs. Dombey, my—my dear.’

   • 1987 Sept. 20, Nicholas D. Kristof, "Kidnap-Murder of 5-Year-Old Shakes Japan," New York Times (retrieved 25 June 2013):

     "Kun" is a term of endearment often used in Japan for small boys. Yoshi-kun lived with his parents and grandparents in a house in Takasaki.

   • 2002 June 16, Simon Robinson, "Tropical Trouble," Time:

     The people of Madagascar call him Deba, which means Big Boss. When President Didier Ratsiraka came to power 26 years ago, the moniker was meant as a term of endearment.

Synonyms

• endearment
• diminutive

Translations

word, phrase, or nickname expressing affection

Chinese: Mandarin: 愛稱 (zh), 爱称 (zh) (àichēng), 暱稱 (zh), 昵称 (zh) (nìchēng) Czech: něžné oslovení n Esperanto: karesvorto Finnish: hellittelysana, hellittelynimi French: terme affectueux m Galician: palabra de afecto Georgian: მოფერებითი სიტყვა (moperebiti siṭq̇va) German: Kosewort (de) n Greek: χαϊδευτικό (el) n (chaïdeftikó), υποκοριστικό (el) n (ypokoristikó) Ancient: ὑποκόρισμα n (hupokórisma) Hebrew: שם חיבה‎ (he) m (shem ḥibá) Hungarian: becenév (hu), becézés (in general), becéző szavak pl (in general) Icelandic: blíðuhót n pl, blíðuorð n, ástarorð n, ástarheiti n Italian: vezzeggiativo m Japanese: 愛称 (ja) (aishou) Norwegian: kjæleord n Portuguese: termo afetivo Russian: ласка́тельное и́мя n (laskátelʹnoje ímja), ласка́тельное сло́во n (laskátelʹnoje slóvo) Spanish: palabra de afecto f, palabra tierna f, palabra afectuosa f, palabra cariñosa f