Why Is Dick a nickname for Richard

[Paul Johnston]

And there used to be others--Hob and Dob for Robert, too.

Paul Johnston
On Aug 13, 2009, at 12:22 PM, Baker, John 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
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>         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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