Word of the Day

: October 27, 2007

neophyte

noun NEE-uh-fyte

What It Means

1 : a new convert : proselyte

2 : novice

3 : tyro, beginner

neophyte in Context

Anna, a skiing neophyte, stayed on the bunny slope while her friends went up the mountain.

Did You Know?

"Neophyte" is hardly a new addition to the English language (it's been part of the English vocabulary since the 1300s), but it wasn't in general use before the 19th century. When it was used in a 16th-century translation of the Bible, some folks derided it as pretentious and Latinate. One critic lumped it with other "ridiculous inkhorn terms" and another went as far as to write, "Neophyte, to a bare Englishman is nothing at all." The criticisms of "neophyte" weren't entirely justified, given the word's long history in English, but it is true that "neophyte" has classical roots. It traces back through Late Latin to the Greek "neophytes," meaning "newly planted" or "newly converted."

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.