pet name
11
2.1
- noun
- /pɛt neɪm/
- Informal
:
apodo cariñoso
- My husband's pet name for me is darling, and I love hearing it.
- uses the pet name
- called by a pet name
- give pet names
So you know, pet names for someone that hasn't earned a pet name.
- So you know, pet names for someone that hasn't earned a pet name.
- Do you have any pet names for each other?
- What kills me is when the guys have like the worst pet names for the girls.
- So when you use pet names like hey gorgeous, hey handsome, hey Rockstar, use those kinds of names, whether it's in text or whether he's calling you.
- But yeah, yeah, pet names rough.
- So the cringy pet name stuff like it has to be so bad.
Examples
-
Ninotchka was his pet name for Nina.
Fiction book (1991) -
This is a woman who cared for you, who you called by a special pet name.
-
What is the worst pet name a partner has given you?
-
You guys actually have pet names for these things?
-
That was a pet name that she used to use for me.
-
Cute little pet name she has for me.
-
Your pet name for him.
-
And it was in this way that his pet name for her came to be.
Fiction book (1997) -
Does he always use pet names like "baby," and "sweetheart"?
-
I'm called Pony, my father's pet name for me.
Synonyms
27
7.4
A name or nickname people use for someone
2
9.5
A nickname people use that often describes how a person is
1
9.9
A friendly name used instead of a person's real name
A nickname used by family or friends to show love, for example Billy for William
A familiar name used instead of someone's real name
How Affectionate
- Informal
5
3.7
- Informal
11
2.1
- Specialized
1
7.2
- Informal
49
2.0
Surface Forms
Morphology
pet + name
The intended meaning 'term of endearment' depends on understanding 'pet' in the non-literal sense 'cherished/favourite' rather than the more common B1 sense 'animal'. Learners who only know 'pet' as an animal will likely interpret 'pet name' as a name for an animal, so the expression is partially predictable but requires extra lexical or contextual knowledge.
Etymology
The phrase pet name comes from how people give special names to animals: a pet often has a small, loving name just for it. Because of that image, a pet name now means a short, loving 'name' someone uses to show love.