Pronounced: mag-NIF-ih-koh, noun
Notes: You may be able to guess the meaning
Yesterday’s word
The word apparatchik is “a blindly devoted official, follower, or member of an organization (such as a corporation or political party)”
First usage
Our word came into English in the 1940s
Background / Comments
As I noted yesterday, if you think that our word looks Russian… you are right – in that language, an apparatchik is a member of an apparat (party machine) — and thus a cog in the system of the Communist Party. The term is not considered a flattering one. In current usage, the Communist aspect has been dropped, and the word is used as a criticism of someone who mindlessly follows orders in an organization or bureaucracy.
Richard's Vocabulary Word-of-the-Day 