| Kenneth G. Wilson (1923–). The Columbia Guide to Standard American English. 1993. |
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| -nik (suffix) |
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| is of either Yiddish or Russian origin and is an agentive ending similar to English -er, meaning “one who does or is linked to the action, object, or state described in the word to which it is affixed”: beatnik, peacenik, and computernik are typical of these slang coinages, and Americans continue to use -nik to make nonce words. | 1 |
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| | | The Columbia Guide to Standard American English. Copyright © 1993 Columbia University Press. |
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