Computernik

/kəmˈpjuːtərnɪk/ noun

Definition

An enthusiastic or obsessive computer programmer or expert; someone devoted to computing technology.

Etymology

From 'computer' plus the suffix '-nik' (from Russian '-nik'), popularized by 'sputnik' in the 1950s. The Russian suffix indicates a person devoted to something.

Kelly Says

The suffix '-nik' spread through English after the Soviet Union's Sputnik launched in 1957—suddenly English borrowed Russian word formation just to talk about this space age moment. 'Computernik' and 'beatnik' rode this Russian wave into English slang.

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