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.
neophytes are assigned an experienced church member to guide them through their first year
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Despite this packed schedule, the wine industry neophyte is enjoying her time of discovery, like on this recent visit to Manhattan.—Elizabeth Wellington, Bon Appetit Magazine, 8 Aug. 2025 Fuente is not a complete neophyte in the broadcast booth.—Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 21 July 2025 Astronomy neophytes sometimes mistake the Pleiades star cluster for the Little Dipper because the brightest Pleiades stars resemble a tiny, skewed dipper.—Joe Rao, Space.com, 27 June 2025 Hairpin turns and stressful pit stops go a long way toward entertaining F1 fans and neophytes alike, though melodrama and a bloated run time put the brakes on what should be a film that zips.—Brian Truitt, USA Today, 18 June 2025 See All Example Sentences for neophyte
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
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