Definitions
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- suffix A suffix attached to other words indicating a person with certain characteristics or associated with a certain group or behavior; it is sometimes used derogatorily.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- suffix Appended to words to create a
nickname for a person whoexemplifies ,endorses , or is associated with the thing or quality specified (by the base form), often a particularideology or preference.
Etymologies
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
From the Slavic suffix (Russian: -ник (-nik)). This suffix experienced a surge in English coinages for nicknames and diminutives after the 1957 Soviet launch of the first Sputnik satellite. English usage is heavily influenced by Yiddish usage of -nik and similar borrowed words (nogoodnik, nudnik, kibbutznik).
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Examples
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jwjarvis commented on the word -nik
-nik
November 13, 2010