Why Is Dick a nickname for Richard

Thu Aug 13 16:54:05 UTC 2009

I should have added:

Back in the 13th C. and those days, people used to roll their Rs a lot more
than today, especially in words like "Richard." Kind of like Sean Connery
would.

Don't ask how we know. It's technical.

A "rolled-R" "Richard" or even "Rick" was a lot harder for babies in Merrie
Olde England to say than "Dick."  Try it yourself.

JL
On Thu, Aug 13, 2009 at 12:43 PM, Jonathan Lighter
<wuxxmupp2000 at gmail.com>wrote:

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> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at GMAIL.COM>
> Subject:      Re: Why Is Dick a nickname for Richard
>
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> What the professor means is...
>
> Many kids learning to talk have a hard time pronouncing R (as in Richard),
> so they substitute D if they find that easier.  Same thing for K, which may
> be easier for an infant to say than CH. So the "Rich" of "Richard" comes
> out
> as "Dick."
>
> In the same way, for some tots, B is easier to say than W, and they learn
> to
> say it sooner. So the "Will" of "William" comes out as "Bill."
>
> And here's what I think too:
> It's been going on for centuries, and moms and dads thought it was so cute
> that they began saying the baby-talk versions themselves when talking
> to their little bundles of joy.  The bundles quickly got the idea that they
> were "Dick" as well as "Richard," and "Bill" as well as "William" or
> "Will."
>
> So blame the parents.
>
> JL
>
>
> On Thu, Aug 13, 2009 at 12:22 PM, Baker, John <JMB at stradley.com> wrote:
>
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> > -----------------------
> > Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> > Poster:       "Baker, John" <JMB at STRADLEY.COM>
> > Subject:      Re: Why Is Dick a nickname for Richard
> >
> >
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> >
> >        I'm not sure what to make of the original post, but I think any
> > real answer does need to take account of the fact that some traditional
> > nicknames are rhyming short forms of the full given name, such as
> > Dick/Richard, Bob/Robert, Bill/William, and Ted/Edward.
> >
> >
> > John Baker
> >
> >
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: American Dialect Society [mailto:ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU] On Behalf
> > Of Laurence Horn
> > Sent: Thursday, August 13, 2009 12:02 PM
> > To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
> > Subject: Re: Why Is Dick a nickname for Richard
> >
> > At 11:42 PM +0800 8/13/09, Russ McClay wrote:
> > >Hey, my dad was called Dick so I was curious.
> > >Here's something I found. Any comments? lol
> >
> > If this is a real question and you're seeking a real answer, as opposed
> > to those below, I'd look for explanations based on articulatory
> >  phonetics and acquisition (and maybe a bit of markedness). [r] is
> > learned relatively late by children, so a neighboring "easier" sound is
> > substituted:  if the child retains voicing and articulatory position
> > (alveolar) but changes manner of articulation, the [r] turns into [d].
> > Affricates are tricky too, so [k], voiceless velar stop, replaces [C],
> > voiceless palatal affricate (in lieu of a palatal stop).  Similarly, for
> > "William", [b] is mastered before [w], they're both voiced bilabials, so
> > the former is called on to replace the latter.  And enough kids were
> > doing this to result in the hypocoristics becoming standardized.  At
> > least that seems more reasonable than any of the below.
> >
> > LH
> >
> > >* * *
> > >
> > >Q: Why is Dick a nickname for Richard?
> > >
> > >A: a man named richard from the 40s or 50s nick named dick because he
> > >was a Detective named Richard aka DICK RICK
> > >
> > >The name Richard is very old and it's true origins may well be lost in
> > >the depths of time past. 'Richeard' is a name from Old English where
> > >'Ric' meant ruler and 'heard' meant hard. In those days of yore, before
> >
> > >word-processors, everything was written down and abbreviations became
> > >common and agreed upon. Also in the 13th century rhyming slang became
> > >popular so Richard becomes Rich and eventually Rick which rhymes with
> > >Dick. Much like William - Will - Bill.
> > >
> > >'Dick' eventually, like 'Jack', came to mean all men as in "every Tom,
> > >Dick, or Harry". Shakespeare uses "every Tom, Dick, or Francis" in
> > >Henry IV Part I.
> > >
> > >I know a guy named Richard, and he was a total dick.
> > >
> > >http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Why_is_Dick_a_nickname_for_Richard
> > >
> > >Russ
> >  >
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>
>
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