dvornik

D2V4O1R1N1I1K5

noun

A doorman, porter, janitor, or groundskeeper in a Russian household

OriginRussian дворник →
RareScrabble 15
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Meanings

noundvornik (plural dvorniks)

plural dvorniks

  1. archaicA doorman, porter, janitor, or groundskeeper in a Russian household

    Go to my dvornik and help him to remove the dung. I will pay you.

    1901, Maxim Gorky, The Man Who Was Afraid
    2 more examples

    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.

    1911, Joseph Conrad, Under Western Eyes

    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.

    1912, Mary Antin, Promised Land

Origin

  1. Russianдворник“concierge; one who takes care of the pavement and yard in front of a house”
  2. Englishdvornik

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

More words from Russian

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

dvornik. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/dvornik

MLA

“dvornik.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/dvornik. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “dvornik,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/dvornik.

Source: dvornik on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.