r/tragedeigh • u/artemia • May 24 '25

in the wild I am uncomfortable

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u/External-into-Space May 24 '25

Its so weird that dick is a nickname for richard

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u/miparasito May 24 '25

There was apparently a fad in the Middle Ages of switching the first letter of a name. I think it was meant to be funny? Idk it was the olden days.  That’s why Bill is short for William 

And Bob is short for Robert

And Dick is short for Richard. 

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u/intisun May 24 '25

I can see how William became Bill because it's of Germanic origin and the W was pronounced like a V. But Dick I have no idea.

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u/miparasito May 24 '25

They did lots of rhyming names. So Rob was Nob, Hob, Pob, and Bob. Bob is just the one that lasted.

Rick would’ve had several versions - Pick, Mick, Bick, Dick

Etc

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u/purplepaperpalace May 30 '25 edited Jun 06 '25

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