One of the most productive in Russian is the suffix -nik- (-nits-). I must say that it has an alternation of consonants k / c. The variant with the letter "k" forms words that are masculine, the variant with the letter "c" is related to words of the feminine gender.
It forms words with a common objective meaning, that is, it happens in nouns. Words with the -nick- suffix can be divided into groups according to their lexical meaning.
Words with face meanings
This is a very large semantic group. All the words in it denote a person by his activity, occupation, profession.
If these are males, they have the suffix -nickname-, examples of such words: boatman, tanner, gardener, forester, pupil, repairman, dirty trick, robber, agrarian, altynnik, apparatchik, balalaika, pamperer, baluster, rambler, horse-dealer, shoemaker, white-ticker,towpath, bead worker, fornicator, bribe taker, hangman, out of turn, water worker, military leader, magician, freedman, godfather, eighties, eighth grader, rider, repeater, second grader, sophomore, graduate, eyeballer, goloshtannik, hunter, miner, potter, mayor, sinner, sinner, mushroom picker, summer resident, janitor, ninth grader, tenth grader, foreman, graduate student, debtor, pre-conscription worker, road worker, preschooler, protector, pickpocket, convict, filmmaker, bricklayer, slanderer, collective farmer, nomad, seditious, blood lover, hooker, magician, puppeteer, cult worker, resort visitor, he alth worker, miller, equestrian, classmate, excellent student, gunsmith, submariner, misanthrope, warlock, fourth-grader, fourth-year student, drummer, glutton, shabashnik, hatter, sharomyzhnik, sixth grader, tire nick, schoolboy, skinner, saddler, swordsman, skirter, snitch, pagan.
If they are females, the nouns denoting them have the morpheme –nitz-: teacher, interlocutor, woman in labor, charmer, witness, worker, mistress, magician, etc.
Plant words
There are nouns in Russian with the suffix -nick-, denoting a plant or a place where it grows.
For example: barberry, birch, vineyard, cherry, wolfberry, lichen, blackhead; vetelnik, mossman,alder, gooseberry, sunflower, broom, currant, raspberry, strawberry, blueberry, lingonberry, spruce, aspen, wren, buckthorn, hazel, dog rose, barley, berry.
Words that mean household items
Words with the suffix -nick- (-nitz-) denote dishes or some other things in the house. Examples of these words: teapot, salad bowl, teapot, coffee pot, stewpan, washstand, gravy boat, washbasin, pepper pot, tureen, biscuit bowl, duckling.
There is a group of words with the meaning of a device, a tool: an alarm clock, a guide, a water collector, a water sump, an extinguisher, a thermometer, a milker, a lift, a garbage collector, a collar, a radio receiver, a boiler, a refrigerator, a freezer, a soldering iron, a candlestick.
A special group is made up of words that name food or meals: evening, afternoon snack, potato pancake, kurnik, gingerbread, pickle, cheesecake.
It is possible to single out a category of words denoting premises and buildings: a room, a stall, a hay, a pigsty, a barn, a chicken coop, a calf.
The suffix -nick- also forms words with the meaning "clothing": letnik, quilted jacket, oversleeve, sweatshirt, underwear, kosoklininik.
Words formed by the prefix-suffix method
Some words with the -nick- suffix are formed by adding a prefix and a suffix at the same time. Such words also have a subject meaning:
- an object under something: window sill, armrest, cup holder, headrest.
- an object that covers something: headband, tip,knob, armlet, knee pad, muzzle, headphones.
- a person who does not have anything: stowaway, unmercenary, horseless, shameless, homeless, spineless, atheist, dowry.
- people or objects along something: border guard, plantain.
The objective meaning of such words is formed with the help of a suffix, and the spatial meaning is introduced by a prefix.
How to distinguish between –nick- and –ik- suffixes
What is the suffix in a word like mechanic? If you say that -nick-, then it will be erroneous. In the word mechanic, the word-forming morpheme is –ik-. To prove this, it is necessary to make a word-formation analysis: a mechanic is a person who has the ability to handle mechanisms, there is a letter “n” in the producing base. It follows that the suffix here is -ik-.
According to the same principle, the same morpheme –ik-, and not –nik-, is distinguished in the word “sandstone”, since the originating word is sandy. And at the heart of this word there is the letter "n".
And in the word lichen, definitely, the suffix -nickname-. It is derived from the word "deprive". As you can see, there is no “n” at the base of this word.
How double consonants HH appear in nouns
A double consonant in a word appears, as a rule, at the junction of morphemes, unless, of course, the word is of foreign origin. This means that one "n" refers to the stem of the generating word, and the second "n" is the first letter of the suffix. You can cite as an example words with -nick-: bannik (bath), wanderer (country), chosen one
Difficulty may arise when distinguishing the suffix –nick- or -n- and -ik:
Consider examples: guard - guard (-nick-), chosen one - chosen one (-ik-). What should be learned in this case? A very simple circumstance: -nik- is used when a noun is formed from another noun, and -ik- produces a noun from an adjective or participle.
Here are examples of words where the suffix is –nick- or -n- and -ik:
- -nick-: druzhin-nick (druzhina-n.), rowan-nick (rowan-n.), arshin-nick (arshin-n.), votchin-nick (v. d.-n.)
- -n+ -ik: hryvnia-n-ik (hryvnia - adj.), kon-n-ik (equestrian - adj.), root-n-ik (root - adj.), captive-n -ik (captive - adj.), sacred-n-ik (sacred - adj.), own-n-ik (own - adj.), public-n-ik (public - adj.), sent-n-ik (sent - adj.), production-n-ik (production - adj.), related-n-ik (related - adj.), seed-n-ik (seed - adj.), modern-n-ik (modern - adj.), exiled-n-ik (exiled - adj.)
Words with one "n"
One letter "n" is written for nouns that are formed from adjectives or participles with one letter "n". Examples of words in which one letter n is written: varen-ik (boiled), windy-ik (windy), gostin-its-a (living room), drovyan-ik (wood-burning), hemp-ik(hemp), bone-ik-a (bone), maslen-its-a (oily), peat-ik (peat).
Suffix –nick- in English
This suffix with the words "satellite" and "beatnik" got into the English language. The first word is known to the whole world after the launch of the first satellite of the Earth.
The second word is associated with the name of journalist Herba Cain, who suggested calling the generation of broken youth the word "beatniks".
Thus, the Russian suffix got into the English language and formed in it a whole nest of words with the meaning of a person adhering to a certain style of behavior.
In English, he gives words a derisive, disparaging meaning. This property is common in relation to borrowings, remember Leo Tolstoy: he used French to characterize his negative characters negatively.
About two dozen English words have the "nick" suffix. Examples of some of them:
- neatnik - taking care of himself;
- peacenik – anti-war;
- refusenik - travel restrictions;
- protestnik - protester;
- draftnik - called up for military service;
- Vietnik - served in Vietnam;
- folknik - fan of folklore;
- nudnik - boring person;
- no-goodnik - an unworthy person from whom nothing good is expected;
- Freudnik - follower of Freud;
- Goethenik - admirer of Goethe;
- detentenik - supporter of detente;
- computernik - fan of computer technology;
- real-estatenik - real estate dealer;
- sitnik - a follower of Buddhism.
Thus, there is a suffix -nickname- in Russian that has made a good career in English speech.
