dvornik

English edit

Etymology edit

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 edit

dvornik (plural dvorniks)

(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 edit

The Oxford English Dictionary