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Iclearwater Posted 8 years ago
Vocabulary

English Names

Hello,

Q1. I know few Americans would use the word - cock to refer to the male chicken, but rooster.

But why are there people named as "Dick"?

Q2. Why are people named as John? In slang, John refers to toilet.

Q3. I found an author's surname is Husband. He is mentioned in the references of the book I read. I wonder whether or people would be raising an eyebrow if they hear it?

Q4. Can a baby girl legally named as Peter, Tom, etc. ?

Thanks!

  

Top answer

The words you mention in 1 and 2 have been, and still are used respectively to refer to a male bird, a diminutive of Richard, and one of the commonest names in English (and with variants in many other languages) long before they acquired the other meaning you find questionable. We're not going to avoid using them just because some people with an adolescent sense of humour are going to smirk when they hear them. 3.

— Rover_KE

  • The words you mention in 1 and 2 have been, and still are used respectively to refer to a male bird, a diminutive of Richard, and one of the commonest names in English (and with variants in many other languages) long before they acquired the other meaning you find questionable.
  • We're not going to avoid using them just because some people with an adolescent sense of humour are going to smirk when they hear them.
  • 3.
  • We rarely raise an eyebrow at any surname we hear for the first time—however bizarre it might sound.
  • There are thousands of them: 'Husband' is one of the less eye-popping examples.
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2 Answers
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The words you mention in 1 and 2 have been, and still are used respectively to refer to a male bird, a diminutive of Richard, and one of the commonest names in English (and with variants in many other languages) long before they acquired the other meaning you find questionable.

We're not going to avoid using them just because some people with an adolescent sense of humour a

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iclearwaterQ4. Can a baby girl legally named as Peter, Tom, etc. ?

Peta is the female version of Peter. You can research it on the internet.

iclearwaterQ2. Why are people named as John? In slang, John refers to toilet.

In American slang in particular.

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