[1] In the cases where a native English language coinage may occur, the "-nik"-word often bears an ironic connotation,[2] as in the case of the terms coined for the failed rocket launch of the U.S. satellite rival to Sputnik, such as kaputnik, dudnik and flopnik among others.
The first was driven by Yinglish words contributed by Yiddish speakers from Eastern Europe.
The second surge was observed after the launch of the first Sputnik satellite by the Soviet Union on October 4, 1957.
In his book The American Language, first published in 1919, H. L. Mencken (1880–1956) credited the mania for adding "-nik" to the ends of adjectives to create nouns to Al Capp's American comic strip Li'l Abner (1934–1977) [4] rather than to the influence of "Sputnik", first recorded in 1957,[5] or "beatnik", first recorded in 1958.
[6] Words of significant context or usage: Casual neologisms: Words originally used by Jews of Europe, America, and Israel, often referring to concepts related to their experiences or things happening in Israel or among the Jewish people: Native or constructed Slavic words originating in Slavic-speaking environments: There are quite a few proper nouns (surnames and place names) with this suffix.