beatnik

American  

[beet-nik] / ˈbit nɪk /

noun

1. (sometimes initial capital letter) a member of the Beat Generation.

2. a person who rejects or avoids conventional behavior, dress, etc.

---

beatnik British  

/ ˈbiːtnɪk /

noun

1. a member of the Beat Generation (sense 1)

2. informal any person with long hair and shabby clothes

---

Etymology

Origin of beatnik

1955–60, beat (adj.) (as in Beat Generation ) + -nik

Compare meaning

How does beatnik compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• beatnik vs. hippie

Explanation

In the 1950s and early 1960s, a young person who wore a black turtleneck and a beret while playing the bongos would probably be called a beatnik. Beatniks were a youthful subculture that was influenced by jazz music and Beat poets and writers, like Jack Kerouac and Allen Ginsberg. This unconventional group rejected the status quo of "normal" society, preferring to express themselves artistically. A newspaper columnist coined the term beatnik in 1958, influenced by the Sputnik satellite that had been launched the year before.