[1] : The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48

nickname \nick"name`\, n. oe. ekename surname, hence, a
   nickname, an ekename being understood as a nekename,
   influenced also by e. nick, v. see eke, and name.
   a name given in affectionate familiarity, sportive
   familiarity, contempt, or derision; a familiar or an
   opprobrious appellation; as, nicholas's nickname is nick.
   1913 webster +pjc
see also:
eke name 

[2] : The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48

nickname \nick"name`\, v. t. imp.  p. p. nicknamed; p. pr. 
   vb. n. nicknaming.
   to give a nickname to; to call by a nickname.
   1913 webster

         you nickname virtue; vice you should have spoke.
                                                  --shak.
   1913 webster

         i altogether disclaim what has been nicknamed the
         doctrine of finality.                    --macaulay.
   1913 webster
see also:
nicknamed nicknaming 

[3] : WordNet (r) 2.0

nickname
     n 1: a familiar name  for a person often a shortened version of
          a person's given name; "joe's mother would not use his
          nickname and always called him joseph"; "henry's
          nickname was slim" syn: moniker, cognomen, sobriquet,
           soubriquet
     2: a descriptive name for a place or thing; "the nickname for
        the u.s. constitution is `old ironsides'"
     v : give a nickname to syn: dub
see also:
moniker cognomen sobriquet soubriquet dub 

[4] : Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0

33 moby thesaurus words for "nickname":
   affectionate name, agnomen, appellation, appellative, baptize,
   byname, byword, call, christen, cognomen, define, denominate,
   denomination, designate, diminutive, dub, entitle, epithet,
   first name, handle, hypocoristic, identify, label, moniker, name,
   nominate, pet name, sobriquet, specify, style, tag, term, title

Nickname >> N Words
Nickname, definition of term: Nickname
nickname_pag1.html