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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.
Examples of neophyte in a Sentence
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
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Cite this Entry
“Neophyte.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/neophyte. Accessed 22 Nov. 2024.
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neophyte
noun
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