moniker

noun

Etymology: Unknown; first attested in 1849. Suggested derivations are: * Backslang for ekename (compare nickname); * From Shelta munik, munika; * From monk; * Partridge (A Dictionary of Historical Slang) suggests a corruption of monogram, which is suggestive of the sense signature. * From monarch in the sense 'king or No. 1, and thus with frank egotism, "I, myself".' (The Gentleman's Magazine, Vol. 281, pg. 349.) Online Etymological Dictionary's entry cites the Saturday Review (London newspaper) of 1857, which noted, "the word has a certain Coptic or Egyptian twang".

1. A personal name or nickname; an informal label, often drawing attention to a particular attribute.

   “The rookie was upset at being called Lemon Drop until she realized that everyone on the team had a silly moniker.”

   “Again fairly common, and always amusing, are the monikers drawn from the (imagined) childhood of a particular vagrant.”

2. A person's signature.

   “The monikers of both these famously well-endowed movie stars contain enormous sworls (two of them, no less, for Ms West!) that could only signify you-know-what, according to Ms Koren.”

3. An object (structured item of data) used to associate the name of an object with its location.

   “Monikers are often composed from other monikers to allow object hierarchies to be navigated based on a textual description of a path.”

   “The GetObject function can also be used to access objects via monikers. A moniker is itself an object that acts as an intermediary between VBScript and the actual object to be accessed. Monikers are typically used when the objects to be accessed exist in a namespace other than the file system.”