English Explanatory Dictionary

beatnik

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  1. A person who dresses in a manner that is not socially acceptable and is supposed to reject conventional norms of thought and behavior; nonconformist in dress and behavior.
  2. A person associated with the Beat Generation of the 1950s and 1960s or its style.

Pronunciation

/ˈbiːtnɪk/ LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-beatnik.wav

Word forms

beatnik beatniks beatniki

Etymology

Coined by American columnist Herb Caen in 1958. From beat (generation) + -nik (“person who exemplifies or endorses something”). Compare jazznik. The suffix, a cutesy or ironic use of the Russian suffix -ник (-nik), experienced a surge of use in English coinages for nicknames and diminutives after the 1957 Soviet launch of the Sputnik satellite.

Synonyms

beat

Related words

Baghdad by the Bay fringie hepcat hippie hippy

Derived words

beatnikery beatnikish beatnikism Bootnik jazznik peacenik wordnik

Translations

Belarusian: бі́тнік Czech: beatník Estonian: biitnik Finnish: beatnik French: beatnik German: Beatnik Hebrew: ביטניק Japanese: ビートニク Korean: 비트족 Korean: 비트닉 Macedonian: битник Norwegian: beatnik Polish: beatnik Polish: bitnik Portuguese: beatnik Russian: би́тник Spanish: beatnik Ukrainian: бі́тник Yiddish: ביטניק
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