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greenhorn - 3 dictionary results

green⋅horn

  [green-hawrn]
Use greenhorn in a Sentence
–noun
1. an untrained or inexperienced person.
2. a naive or gullible person; someone who is easily tricked or swindled.
3. Slang. a newly arrived immigrant; newcomer.
Origin:
1425–75; late ME; see green, horn; orig. applied to cattle with green (i.e., young) horns

Related forms:
greenhornism, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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green·horn   (grēn'hôrn')   
n.  
  1. An inexperienced or immature person, especially one who is easily deceived.
  2. A newcomer, especially one who is unfamiliar with the ways of a place or group.

[Middle English greene horn, horn of a newly slaughtered animal : grene, green; see green + horn, horn; see horn.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Greenhorn

Green"horn`\, n. A raw, inexperienced person; one easily imposed upon. --W. Irving.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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