neoteric

adjective

ne·​o·​ter·​ic ˌnē-ə-ˈter-ik 

: recent in origin : modern

Did you know?

An odd thing about neoteric is that this word for things that are modern and new is itself rather old. It's been part of English since at least 1596, and its roots go back even further—to ancient Greek. We adapted the word from Late Latin neōtericus, which also means "recent." Neōtericus in turn comes from Late Greek neōterikós and ultimately from Greek néos, meaning "new" or "young." As old as its roots are, however, neoteric itself entered English later than its synonyms modern (which appeared earlier in the 16th century) and newfangled (which has been with us since the 15th century).

Examples of neoteric in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

One of the first new restaurants to open during the pandemic, the project was a labor of love for chef Mayank Istwal, who hired most of his staff directly from India to pursue their dream of modernizing neoteric Indian cuisine and telling the story of their native country's heritage and culture. —Jessica Dupuy, Forbes, 6 Nov. 2021

Furthermore, by including NFT support, Meta is moving to holistically integrate two of the largest neoteric digital movements: cryptocurrencies and the Internet of Things (IoT). —Solo Ceesay, Rolling Stone, 30 Nov. 2021

And as part of the collaboration, Burberry invited Ssense to add its neoteric polish to its SoHo retail space. —New York Times, 23 Nov. 2021

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from Late Latin neōtericus, borrowed from Late Greek neōterikós, from Greek neṓteros (comparative of néos "young, fresh, new") + -ikos -ic entry 1 — more at new entry 1

First Known Use

1577, in the meaning defined above

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