neophyte

UK/ˈniː.əˌfaɪt/US/ˈniː.əˌfaɪt/

nounC2Rare in speech; mostly a word you read · #13,300 of 15,258leans written

Other forms: neophytes

A neophyte is somebody new to a subject or a belief. A neophyte in the field, neophytes and veterans, still a neophyte.

It is more formal and slightly kinder than beginner, since it implies somebody who has joined rather than somebody who is simply ignorant. The Greek means newly planted, which is a gentler image than most.

Definitions of neophyte

1nounneophyteSomebody new to a subject or a belief.C2
“As a neophyte in the kitchen, he burned almost everything he tried to cook.”

neophyte is a beginner.

Remember it

The Greek parts are new and a young plant. A neophyte has only just been planted in the subject, and it barely shows above the soil yet.

hooks ontonew plant

Where it comes from

Greek neophytos means newly planted, from neos, new, plus phyton, a plant.

Ancient Greek
νεόφυτος — newly planted
Latin
neophytus
English, today
neophyte

Built from

νέος · Ancient Greek — new
φυτόν · Ancient Greek — plant, child

Latin neophytus, from Ancient Greek νεόφυτος (“newly planted”), from νέος (“new”) + φυτόν (“plant, child”). by surface analysis, neo- + -phyte.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA

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