neophyte

noun

neo·​phyte ˈnē-ə-ˌfīt 

1

: a new convert : proselyte

2

: novice sense 1

3

: tyro, beginner

a neophyte when it comes to computers

neophytes fresh from graduate schools of business

Did you know?

Neophyte is hardly a new addition to the English language—it's been part of the English vocabulary since the 14th century. It traces back through Late Latin to the Greek word neophytos, meaning "newly planted" or "newly converted." These Greek and Latin roots were directly transplanted into the early English uses of neophyte, which first referred to a person newly converted to a religion or cause. By the 1600s, neophyte had gained a more general sense of "a beginner or novice." Today you might consider it a formal elder sibling of such recent informal coinages as newbie and noob.

Synonyms

• convert
• proselyte

Examples of neophyte in a Sentence

neophytes are assigned an experienced church member to guide them through their first year

Recent Examples on the Web

This is where the Harris and former Biden team is really supposed to make its money, in a get-out-the-vote competition with relative neophytes on the Republican side. —W. James Antle Iii, Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, 4 Nov. 2024

Despite his career in medical devices, Saslow wasn’t a neophyte in sports ownership: The executive bought into the Chicago Cubs in 2015. —Brendan Coffey, Sportico.com, 30 Oct. 2024

Such diplomacy would test the mettle of the Trump administration’s foreign-affairs neophytes, but the greater unknown is Putin. —Robert David English, Foreign Affairs, 10 Mar. 2017

The system grants incumbents an inherent advantage over neophytes who are new to the arcane balloting rules, some of which were written by the same veteran politicians who now reap the benefits. —Joe Mahr, Chicago Tribune, 13 Oct. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle English neophite, borrowed from Late Latin neophytus, borrowed from Greek neóphytos "newly planted" (in New Testament and patristic Greek, "newly converted, new convert"), from neo- neo- + -phytos, verbal adjective of phýein "to bring forth, produce" — more at be

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

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Kids Definition

neophyte

noun

neo·​phyte ˈnē-ə-ˌfīt 

1

: a person who has recently joined a religion

2

: beginner, novice