/spoot"nik, sput"-/ ; Russ. /spooht"nyik/ , n.
( sometimes cap. ) any of a series of Soviet earth-orbiting satellites: Sputnik I was the world's first space satellite.
[ 1957; spútnik satellite, traveling companion, equiv. to s- together, with + put' way, route + -nik agent suffix (cf. -NIK) ]