-nik

-nik

a suffix of nouns that refer, usually derogatorily, to persons who support or are concerned or associated with a particular political cause or group, cultural attitude, or the like: beatnik, filmnik; no-goodnik; peacenik.

Origin:
< Yiddish (cf. nudnik) < Slavic: a personal suffix in Slavic languages in contact with Yiddish

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World English Dictionary
-nik
 
suffix forming nouns
denoting a person associated with a specified state, belief, or quality: beatnik; refusenik
 
[C20: from Russian -nik, as in Sputnik, and influenced by Yiddish -nik (agent suffix)]

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
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00:10
-nik is always a great word to know.
So is bezoar. Does it mean:
a calculus or concretion found in the stomach or intestines of certain animals, esp. ruminants, formerly reputed to be an effective remedy for poison.
an arrangement of five objects, as trees, in a square or rectangle, one at each corner and one in the middle.
Etymonline
Word Origin & History

-nik
as in beatnik, etc., suffix used in word formation from c.1945, from Yiddish -nik (cf. nudnik "a bore"), from Rus. -nik, common personal suffix meaning "person or thing associated with or involved in" (cf. kolkhoznik "member of a kolkhoz"). Rocketed to popularity with sputnik (q.v.).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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