Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun Any of a series of Soviet satellites sent into Earth orbit, especially the first, launched October 4, 1957.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun a Russian artificial satellite

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Russian sputnik (zemli), fellow traveler (of Earth) : so-, s-, together; see ksun in Indo-European roots + put', path, way; see pent- in Indo-European roots + -nik, n. suff.]

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