nudnik

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Pronunciations

nudnik (NUD-nik) listen

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Definitions

  • n. An annoying person.

Example Sentences

  • "Who could stand to be around Shlomo for very long? He's such a nudnik!"

  • "He kept asking me questions during the movie. What a nudnik." (JPS)

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Languages of Origin

  • Yiddish

Etymology

  • נודניק - from נודיען (nudyen, "to bore") + ־ניק (-nik, "noun-forming suffix"). Connected to Polish and Russian words for boredom.

      • Who Uses This

      • Jews: Jews of diverse religious backgrounds and organizational involvements
      • Non-Jews: (words that have spread outside of Jewish networks)

      Regions

      • North America
      • Australia / New Zealand
      • Great Britain
      • South Africa

      Dictionaries

      • The New Joys of Yiddish, by Leo Rosten and Lawrence Bush (New York, 2003[1968]).
      • Dictionary of Jewish Usage: A Popular Guide to the Use of Jewish Terms, by Sol Steinmetz (Lanham, MD, 2005).

      Alternative Spellings

      nudnic, noodnick, nudnick, noodnik

Notes

  • In modern Hebrew, there are male and female forms of this word: nudnik and nudnikit נודניק/ית.

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