How Dick Came to be Short for Richard

Today I found out why Dick is short for Richard.

The name Richard is thought by most etymologists to derive from the Proto-Germanic 'Rikharthu', meaning more or less "hard ruler" ('Rik-' significant 'ruler' and '-harthu' meaning 'difficult').  This was adopted into Old Loftier German language as 'Ricohard', and from there to Old French, then Onetime English equally 'Richeard', and today as 'Richard'.

You might think from Richard pregnant "hard ruler" and being a man's proper name that Dick existence a nickname for Richard probably came about for pejorative reasons, borrowing from i of the other meanings of "dick", such equally 'dick' equally in 'jerk' or 'dick as in 'penis'.  However, the starting time record of 'dick' meaning 'jerk' didn't come up about until a few hundred years subsequently its association with Richard and the first record of it referring to a penis wasn't until the 1890s, as a British regular army slang term.  Exactly how that latter pregnant came nigh isn't known, being a slang term that was considered somewhat uncouth to put on paper.  Because of that, 'dick' meaning 'penis' probably had been around a while before the 1890s, simply not near long plenty before to have contributed to the Richard/Dick connexion.

How Dick became a nickname for Richard is known and is one of those "knee joint bone connected to the thigh bone" type progressions, somewhat similar to how the word 'soccer' came about.  Due to people having to write everything past mitt, shortened versions of Richard were common, such as 'Ric' or 'Rich'.  This in turn gave rise to nicknames like 'Richie', 'Rick', and 'Ricket', among others.  People likewise used to like to employ rhyming names; thus, someone who was nicknamed Rich might further be nicknamed Hitch.  Thus, Richard -> Ric -> Rick gave ascent to nicknames similar Dick and Hick around the early on 13th century.

While few today call Richards 'Hick', the nickname 'Dick' has stuck around, and of course has come to mean many other things besides.  Its persistence as associated with Richard is probably in office considering around the 16th century Dick started to exist synonymous with 'homo', 'lad', or 'boyfriend', sort of a general proper noun for any 'Tom, Dick, or Francis" (which by the way appears in Shakespeare'due south Henry Iv, written in the tardily 16th century, with Dick at this point firmly established as an "every man" proper name).  Information technology may well be that this association with 'man' is in turn how 'dick' somewhen came to hateful 'penis'.

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Bonus Facts:

  • While y'all won't typically hear people calling Richards 'Hicks' anymore, this nickname did give ascension to 'Hudde'.  This in turn gave us 'Hudson' effectually the late 13th century, which of course is at present a somewhat common surname.
  •  Speaking of Hudsons, Katy Perry's real proper name is Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson.  She created the stage proper noun "Katy Perry" so as not to be dislocated with Kate Hudson.  Earlier she did this, she did release an album under her real proper noun, with the album chosen "Katy Hudson".  The album flopped.  It wasn't until she signed with Capitol Music Grouping in 2007 that she adopted the stage name Katy Perry.  Since and then, she'southward obviously been a huge success… coincidence?!? … probably.  Read more interesting glory facts here: Glory Facts
  • People with the proper name Robert are besides called Bob via much the aforementioned procedure every bit people who are named Richard beingness called Dick.  Namely Robert -> Rob and and so the rhyming nickname Bob.
  • Similarly, this is likewise how we get Bill from William, William -> Volition  rhyming and so to Beak.
  • The nickname Hodge is derived this aforementioned way from Roger:  Roger -> Rodge -> Hodge.
  • Polly too comes from the name Molly… the list goes on and on and on.
  • Spotted dick, the pudding, not someone with a sure STD, is thought by many etymologists to have gotten its name from the fact that certain types of difficult cheese effectually the 19th century were called 'dick'.  This in turn gave ascent to treacle dick (treacle with cheese), then when raisins or the like were added, 'spotted dick', though of form it's made a little differently today, just the raisins particularly are however commonly used.  One alternative etymology of spotted dick that some etymologists ascribe to is from the give-and-take pudding itself giving ascent to puddink, then puddick, and then just dick.  As spotted dick is only a type of suet pudding with stale fruit added, giving it the spots, this seems reasonable enough besides.
  • Dick likewise once popularly meant an assertion, proclamation, or declaration, such as "I do dick Mr. Beauregard… y'all are my hero!"  Similarly, someone's 'dying dick' meant something completely unlike in the Middle Ages equally it would now, namely their 'dying annunciation'.
  • Other things that were commonly called 'dick' through the heart ages upward to now include: aprons, dictionaries, detectives, whips, and aught (as in, 'I got dick for my altogether').
  • Incidentally, "That's what she said" is thought to take been effectually since the 1970s with the primeval documented instance of the phrase showing up on Saturday Nighttime Alive, spoken by Chevy Chase in a weekend update skit in 1975, which too happened to be the start flavor of SNL.  "That'south what she said" was later hugely popularized cheers to Wayne's World skits on Saturday Dark Alive and afterward usage in the movie "Wayne's World".  The British as well have their own version of that statement which has been around for much longer (over a century), "said the extra to the Bishop".  Yous can read more about how that phrase came about hither: The British Equivalent of "That's What She Said"

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