A Dictionary of the Older Scottish Tongue (up to 1700)
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First published 1971 (DOST Vol. IV).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
Quotation dates: 1551, 1659-1686
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Niknam(e, Nyk-, Nic(k)name, n. [e.m.E. nyckename (1530), nick(e)name, late ME. nekename (Prompt. Parv.), f. ME. ekename additional name, by metanalysis of an ekename.] A nickname; also, a name or appellation applied by way of ridicule or abuse. — 1551 Hamilton Catechism 86.
Thai brek this command that … says ony injurious wordis to him, nyknamis, banning, backbyting, or scorning 1659 House Gordon II. 143.
William Gordon … caled gaygarters to a nickname 1662 Criminal Trials III. 606.
The said Margret Wilson hes an niknam called ‘Pikle neirest the wind’ 1673 Kingarth Par. Rec. 90.
They had … disgracd him in … cursing and raising nicknames on his wife and … her sister 1686 Ib. 152.
Some persons … did raise filthy nicnames unchristianly upon others
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"Niknam n.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 16 Dec 2025 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/dost/nikname_n>
