Margaret: You can call me Meg or Peg or Peggy or Maggie or even Maisie

Lois Davis of Winston-Salem wonders how some nicknames came to be used. "If a child is named Deborah and is called Debby, that makes sense. But why is a boy named John and then called Jack? They both have four letters, so it isn't a short version. If a boy is named Jonathan and called Jon, then that is a short version. It makes no sense.

"I may be using the wrong term to say ‘nicknames,' as I think we usually think of a real nickname to be something like Sonny or Butch or Twinkle Toes."

First, a dictionary definition: A nickname is a name added to or substituted for the real name. It can indicate affection, ridicule or familiarity.

Nicknames can be any length. Shortening or lengthening a given name by using a nickname is not a consideration. For instance, someone named Deborah may be nicknamed Debby, Debbie or Deb.

Some nicknames are based on physical attributes. That's how the celebrated gangster Alphonse Gabriel "Al" Capone came by the nickname Scarface. Another gangster, Lester Gillis, one of whose aliases was George Nelson, was nicknamed Baby Face Nelson.

Some nicknames based on physical attributes are applied for ironic or humorous effect. Growing up, I knew of a man who must have weighed at least 275 pounds. I remember him only by his nickname, Tiny. At the same time, a short, skinny little man I knew was known by all as Heavy.

Some nicknames, viewed superficially, seem to make no sense. For instance, why was John F. Kennedy called Jack by family and friends, as a number of people named John are? The answer that seems most plausible to me comes from history. Some people, however, suggest that it is only speculation.

In medieval times a diminutive, pet form of John was Jankin or Jackin. In time that became shortened to Jack, which remains as a nickname for John. One source I came across says that Kennedy's parents began calling him Jack only because they liked the name, not because of any historical derivation.

Some nicknames arise mysteriously. For instance, the Web site called The Straight Dope observes that the name Margaret has inspired numerous nicknames. Some of them are based on a progression of shortening and the substitution of letters: Margaret, Meg, Peg, Peggy.

Margaret, the site says, has spawned a variety of names that can hardly be connected with the original. It lists Margot, Marguerita, Rita, Greta, Gretel, Gretchen, Marjorie, Maggie, Madge, May, Maisie, Daisy, Maidie, Meg and Mog.

The nickname Dick for Richard seems to have come about in a process known as rhyming substitution, once popular in Europe and England. First, Richard was shortened to Rich, then Rick, then Dick. The same process probably led to the progression William, Will and Bill, and Robert, Rob and Bob.

Given names that have been given nicknames are too numerous to attempt to list and explain here. No explanation can be found for many of them. The explanation of many others, like that of Jack for John, lie in history. Others are the result of whim, as in rhyming substitution.

An item in a previous column was about the difference between the words discreet and discrete. Discreet means marked by, exercising, or showing prudence and wise self-restraint in speech and behavior; circumspect. Discrete means separate or distinct.

Frank Johnson of Winston-Salem has asked a follow-up question: "Is discretion, then, the noun form of discreet -- I am often tempted to spell it ‘disgression -- as in, ‘Please use discretion when passing along this information?'"

Yes, discretion is the noun form of the adjective discreet. The adjective loses the double ‘e' when turned into a noun. The noun form of discrete is discreteness.

Among the fad words that I could live happily without ever reading or hearing again is ratchet when it is used to mean increase or decrease something.

One of the silliest examples I have come across was this, from an Associated Press story: "Worried and short of money, Americans stopped buying everything from cars to corn flakes in the July to September quarter, ratcheting back spending by the largest amount in 28 years ..."

What's wrong with lowering, decreasing or even cutting back?

■ Richard Creed is a retired Journal editor. He can be reached at richcreed@triad.rr.com.