sputnik English · revision 1107

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈspʊtnɪk/, /ˈspʌtnɪk/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|ru|спутник|tr=sputnik|t=satellite; travelling companion]],^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU) short for ''sputnik zemli'' “fellow traveller of the earth”,^(AHD)^(Etymonline) from ''s-'' “together, with”, ''put''' “way, path” and the agent suffix ''-nik''.^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU) It goes back to Old Church Slavonic ''supǫtĭnikŭ''.^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Any of a series of Soviet satellites, especially the first, launched on 4 October 1957 (1957).^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The word was soon used for any artificial satellite.^(OED 1989)^(Wiktionary) Etymonline notes that the launch set off a fashion for new words in ''-nik'', such as ''muttnik'' for the dog Laika and ''flopnik'' and ''kaputnik'' for the failed American satellite.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 4 October 1957 – launch of the first Sputnik.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+ * 1957 – the word in English.^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1958 – transferred and figurative uses.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # Any of a series of Soviet [[satellite|alt=satellites]] put into earth orbit beginning in 1957, especially the first.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # Any artificial satellite.^(OED 1989)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[-nik]]

+ * [[beatnik]]

+ * [[satellite]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}