dvornik

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Russian дворник (dvornik, “concierge; one who takes care of the pavement and yard in front of a house”), from двор (dvor, “courtyard”).

Noun

dvornik (plural dvorniks)

  1. (archaic) A doorman, porter, janitor, or groundskeeper in a Russian household
    • 1901, Maxim Gorky, The Man Who Was Afraid:
      Go to my dvornik and help him to remove the dung. I will pay you.
    • 1911, Joseph Conrad, Under Western Eyes:
      He reached the doorway of his house in a state of mental discouragement which enabled him to receive with apparent indifference an official-looking envelope from the dirty hand of the dvornik.
    • 1912, Mary Antin, Promised Land:
      My mother kept a cook and a nursemaid, and a dvornik, or outdoor man, to take care of the horses, the cow, and the woodpile.

References
  • The Oxford English Dictionary
This article is issued from Wiktionary. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.