English Explanatory Dictionary

-nik

English dictionary entry

Meanings

suffix
  1. Used to form nouns denoting a person who exemplifies, endorses, or is associated with a specified thing or quality, often a particular ideology or preference.

Word forms

-nik -niks -niki -nikim

Etymology

From the Slavic suffix represented by Russian -ник (-nik). This suffix experienced a surge in English coinages for nicknames and diminutives after the Soviet launch of the first Sputnik satellite in 1957. Its usage in English is heavily influenced by Yiddish usage of ־ניק (-nik) and similar borrowed words (nogoodnik, nudnik, kibbutznik).

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