nom de guerre
A nom de guerre is a fake name (or pseudonym) that you use for a particular task or job. If you're a member of a roller derby team, you might adopt the nom de guerre of "Dora the Destroyer."
Originally, a nom de guerre was literally its French translation: "name of war." Starting around the fifteenth century, French army recruits were assigned official noms de guerre, usually relating to their hometowns or some distinctive physical characteristic, which acted like identification numbers. Today, most often a nom de guerre is simply a false name that you use in one particular situation or role.
Definitions of nom de guerre
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a fictitious name used when the person performs a particular social role
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types:
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stage name
the pseudonym of an actor
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nom de plume, pen name
an author's pseudonym
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type of:
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name
a language unit by which a person or thing is known
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stage name
DISCLAIMER: These example sentences appear in various news sources and books to reflect the usage of the word ‘nom de guerre'.
Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Vocabulary.com or its editors.
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