Among the ancient Romans, a novice (novicius) was usually a newly enslaved person, who had to be trained in his or her duties. Among Catholics and Buddhists, if you desire to become a priest, monk, or nun, you must serve as a novice for a period of time, often a year (called your novitiate), before being ordained or fully professing your vows. No matter what kind of novice you are—at computers, at writing, at politics, etc.—you've got a lot to learn.
Novices serve time as scullery serfs as they work toward the privilege of trailing a pastry chef …—Guy Trebay, New York Times, 4 Sept. 2002For the novice, walking the course also means being scared senseless by all the possibilities to screw up.—Tim Keown, ESPN, 17 Sept. 2001Yet it's obvious to him and everyone else who the novice is here, the book-learned tournament virgin.—James McManus, Harper's, December 2000Much defter than one would have thought possible from the length of her fingernails, Toula had no fear of high fast notes; her flair, mounted between Andrea's perfectionist reserve and Alice's novice awkwardness, seemed all too displayed.—John Updike, The Afterlife, 1994
He's a novice in cooking.
a book for the novice chess player
Recent Examples on the WebFor seasoned cooks and kitchen novices, cookbook author and nutritionist Robin Miller takes it back to basics with great, family-friendly recipes worth making over and over again.—Robin Miller, The Arizona Republic, 7 Mar. 2024 Garvey, 75, is both a Republican and a novice at politics.—Nicholas Riccardi, The Denver Post, 29 Feb. 2024 The adviser will know the questions to ask and the traps to avoid far better than any novice could.—Liz Weston, San Diego Union-Tribune, 25 Feb. 2024 While good for novices, two hands are definitely required—one for the opener and one to hold the bottle.—Maya Polton, Better Homes & Gardens, 8 Feb. 2024 The promotion offers 52 free meal coupons to the victorious novice baller, one for each week of the year, according to Brad Reynolds, marketing director for UC Athletics.—Erin Couch, The Enquirer, 23 Feb. 2024 This campaign was driven by the ambition to cultivate a more inclusive investing community, particularly targeting women, young adults and novices in the financial world.—Sandy Carter, Forbes, 23 Feb. 2024 Also, Paul Sun-Hyung Lee’s role as Uncle Iroh tempers the tone of many scenes that bend toward melodrama in the hands of more novice actors.—Aramide Tinubu, Variety, 22 Feb. 2024 The event will run from Feb. 21 through 25, and it will be filled with close to 200 activities for everyone from novice and experienced birders to families, photographers, gardeners and those who are interested in the protection of birds as part of the environment.—Caron Golden, San Diego Union-Tribune, 17 Feb. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'novice.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Etymology
Middle English, borrowed from Anglo-French, "probationer in a religious community" (continental Old French also, "inexperienced person"), borrowed from Late Latin novīcius, going back to Latin, "newly enslaved person, person recently entered into a condition," as adjective, "newly imported, recently discovered, fashionable," from novus "new" + -īcius-itious — more at new entry 1
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