beatnik
UK[ˈbiːtnɪk]US[ˈbiːtnɪk]
n
a young person in the late 1950s and early 1960s who rejected conventional social norms, often associated with a style of dress, a love of jazz, and an interest in poetry and art.
Morpheme Breakdown
beat
nik
beat
sense
nik
sense
Etymology
the word 'beatnik' is a mid-20th century american coinage, a portmanteau blending the 'beat' of the 'beat generation' with the slavic suffix '-nik'. the 'beat generation' itself, a term popularized by writer jack kerouac, used 'beat' to suggest being socially 'beaten down' but also spiritually upbeat or 'beatific'. the '-nik' suffix, entering american english via yiddish from slavic languages (as seen in 'sputnik'), denotes a person associated with a particular quality or state. thus, 'beatnik' literally means "a person of the beat style," a label applied, often pejoratively by the media, to the bohemian youth who emulated the attitudes and aesthetics of the original beat writers.
Analysis
Structure: beat (sense) + nik (sense)
- beat: english (from the beat generation). functional role: root, conveying the concept of the countercultural literary movement.
- nik: russian/yiddish (suffix). functional role: agent noun suffix, meaning "a person associated with or characterized by" the root.
Examples
the coffee shop was a popular haunt for local beatniks who would gather for poetry readings.
he adopted the classic beatnik style with a black turtleneck, beret, and sunglasses.
the term beatnik was popularized by a san francisco newspaper columnist in 1958.