[spoo
t-nik, spuht-; Russ. spoot-nyik] 
| (sometimes initial capital letter) any of a series of Soviet earth-orbiting satellites: Sputnik I was the world's first space satellite. |
| Sput·nik (spŏŏt'nĭk, spŭt'-, spōōt'nyĭk) n. Any of a series of Soviet satellites sent into Earth orbit, especially the first, launched October 4, 1957. [Russian sputnik (zemlyi), 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.] |