DICK
How a Medieval Pet Name Became Unspeakable
Every word has a biography.
Some words live quiet lives, meaning the same thing for centuries. Others undergo radical transformations—their meanings shifting, fragmenting, sometimes reversing entirely. The word dick belongs to this latter category.
What began as an affectionate nickname for Richard in medieval England has traveled through 800 years of semantic change—from aristocratic pet name to generic everyman, from innocent slang to cultural taboo.
This is the story of that transformation.
The Name
Medieval England · 1200–1500 CE/ˈrɪtʃ.ərd/
From Germanic ric (ruler) + hard (brave). Meaning: "powerful ruler"
Introduced to England by the Normans, 1066
The name Richard came to England with the Norman Conquest in 1066. Derived from the Germanic elements meaning "powerful ruler," it became one of the most popular names in medieval England—borne by kings, nobles, and commoners alike.
But in an age when many men shared the same few names, nicknames became essential. Medieval English developed a fascinating system for generating pet names: start with the first syllable, then create a rhyming variant.
This rhyming pattern was extremely common in medieval England. Consider the parallels: William → Will → Bill, Robert → Rob → Bob, Margaret → Meg → Peg.
The linguistic mechanism was simple: change the initial consonant of the shortened form to create a new, distinctive nickname. R became D, and Rick became Dick. By the 13th century, it was as unremarkable as calling a William "Bill" today.
Richard I (Richard the Lionheart)
England's Most Famous Richard
1157–1199
- King whose legendary status elevated the name's prestige
- Third Crusade leader, warrior-king of romance and legend
- Spent only six months of his reign in England
- His fame ensured Richard remained a top English name for centuries
"I would sell London if I could find a buyer."
— Attributed, raising Crusade funds
Richard → Rick → Dick. William → Will → Bill. Robert → Rob → Bob. The rhyme was the rule.
The Everyman
Tudor & Stuart England · 1500–1700Something interesting happens when a name becomes extraordinarily popular: it loses specificity. In Tudor England, Richard (and therefore Dick) was so common that "Dick" began acquiring a secondary meaning—not a particular man named Richard, but any man, or every man.
/dɪk/
Evolving meaning: any ordinary fellow, an everyman
First attested in this usage: 1553
This pattern has repeated throughout English history. "Jack" underwent the same transformation—from a specific name to a generic term (hence "jack-of-all-trades," "every man jack"). "John" became "john" (as in "John Doe"). Names that achieve critical mass become common nouns.
The phrase "Tom, Dick, and Harry" emerged in this period—meaning "any random group of ordinary people." Dick stood between Tom and Harry as the quintessential common Englishman, unremarkable and interchangeable.
Every Tom, Dick, and Harry has an opinion.
This generic usage spawned numerous compound expressions. A "clever dick" was someone who thought themselves too smart. The word was becoming flexible, adaptable, moving beyond its origins as a personal name.
The Slang Turn
Georgian England · 1700–1840The 18th century was an age of slang. British military culture, sailor jargon, criminal cant, and street language all flourished—and cross-pollinated. It was in this linguistic hothouse that "dick" began acquiring its anatomical meaning.
The exact origins are debated by etymologists. Some point to the general pattern of using common male names as slang for male anatomy (compare "peter," "john," "johnson," "willie"). The pattern was consistent—and Dick followed it.
Francis Grose
The Vulgar Lexicographer
1731–1791
- English antiquary and lexicographer
- Published 'A Classical Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue' (1785)
- First serious attempt to document English street slang
- Revealed the hidden vocabulary of Georgian England
"The Vulgar Tongue... words and phrases used by... persons of low and illiberal education."
— Dictionary preface
Francis Grose's dictionary brought slang into print for the first time. Though his documentation of "dick" in the anatomical sense came later, his work established that street language was worthy of scholarly attention.
For decades, the new meaning coexisted with the old. The polite world used "Dick" as a name; the vulgar world used it as slang. The two meanings existed in parallel, separated by class and context.
The Victorian Paradox
Victorian England · 1840–1900Victorian England was famously prudish—yet the vulgar meaning of "dick" continued to circulate. The respectable classes developed elaborate strategies to avoid vulgar words, while those same words thrived in the streets, music halls, and private conversations.
"Dick" as a personal name remained entirely acceptable. Charles Dickens used "Dick Swiveller" in The Old Curiosity Shop. No Victorian reader found the name objectionable. The word led a double life—respectable above, vulgar below.
First documented anatomical usage in print
John S. Farmer's "Slang and Its Analogues"
Oxford English Dictionary earliest citation
John S. Farmer
Documenter of the Unspeakable
1854–1916
- English lexicographer
- 'Slang and Its Analogues' (1891) first documented the anatomical meaning
- His dictionary is the OED's earliest citation for this usage
- Made the unspeakable printable—in scholarly Latin, of course
In 1891, John S. Farmer's slang dictionary provided the first printed documentation of the anatomical meaning. The word had likely circulated in oral usage for decades before—possibly in British military slang—but Farmer made it citable.
The work is written in Latin where matters of a sexual nature are discussed, so as to prevent it from becoming the subject of common conversation.
The Tipping Point
20th Century America · 1900–1980The 20th century witnessed the final act of "dick's" transformation. In early decades, Dick remained a common name—Richard Nixon was called "Dick Nixon" throughout his career. Dick Tracy was a beloved comic strip detective. Dick Van Dyke became a television star.
But the tide was turning. By the 1960s and 1970s, the crude meaning had become so widely known—and increasingly used openly—that the name began its decline. The SSA data tells the story.
Richard Nixon
The Last Famous Dick
1913–1994
- 37th President of the United States
- Consistently called 'Dick Nixon' throughout his career
- One of the last prominent Americans to use 'Dick' publicly
- His era marked the name's final mainstream acceptance
"I am not a crook."
— Press conference, 1973
In 1966, a new meaning crystallized. Norman Bogner's novel Seventh Avenuecontained the first documented use of "dick" as a character insult—not anatomy, but personality.
He's a dick. I don't know from respect, except for my parents.
Parents stopped naming their sons Dick. Men named Richard increasingly went by "Rich," "Rick," or "Richie." The name didn't disappear overnight, but its trajectory was clear.
The Word Today
Contemporary Usage · 1980–PresentToday, "dick" exists in a curious state. The personal name survives among older generations—men born before 1970—but has virtually vanished from new births. By 2014, fewer than five American babies received the name.
The word's meanings have stratified into distinct registers. As anatomy, it's vulgar but not obscene. As an insult ("don't be a dick"), it's widely used and broadly understood. As a detective ("private dick"), it's nostalgic, evoking noir fiction. And as a name—nearly extinct.
Contemporary meanings:
1. Male anatomy (vulgar)
2. An obnoxious person (slang insult)
3. Detective (dated American)
4. Personal name (increasingly rare)
The word's journey reveals something about language itself: meanings are not fixed properties but social negotiations. A word means what its speakers understand it to mean—and those understandings shift across time, class, and context.
"Dick" didn't become vulgar because of some inherent property—it became vulgar because enough speakers used it that way, for long enough, until the vulgar meaning overwhelmed the innocent one.
Words are not just labels for concepts; they are tiny vehicles of meaning that carry cultural freight from one mind to another.
The Word That Changed Its Stripes
800 years ago, a mother in medieval England called her son by his nickname—Dick, for Richard—with nothing but affection in her voice. She could not have imagined what the word would become.
Words are living things. They are born, they grow, they change. They acquire meanings their creators never imagined and shed meanings they once held dear. The word "dick" has traveled further than most—from royal court to common street, from innocent nickname to cultural taboo.
The next time you hear this word—in whatever context—you're hearing 800 years of history. Every meaning it carries is a layer of time, a record of how speakers used it, shaped it, transformed it.
Etymology is biography—not of a person, but of a people.