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neophyte

 - 3 dictionary results

ne⋅o⋅phyte

  [nee-uh-fahyt]
–noun
1. a beginner or novice: He's a neophyte at chess.
2. Roman Catholic Church. a novice.
3. a person newly converted to a belief, as a heathen, heretic, or nonbeliever; proselyte.
4. Primitive Church. a person newly baptized.
Use neophyte in a Sentence
Origin:
1540–50; < LL neophytus newly planted < Gk neóphytos. See neo-, -phyte

Related forms:
ne⋅o⋅phyt⋅ic  [nee-uh-fit-ik] , ne⋅o⋅phyt⋅ish  [nee-uh-fahy-tish] , adjective
ne⋅o⋅phyt⋅ism  [nee-uh-fahy-tiz-uhm] , noun

Synonyms:
1. greenhorn, tyro.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2010.
Cite This Source Link To neophyte
ne·o·phyte   (nē'ə-fīt')   
n.  

  1. A recent convert to a belief; a proselyte.

  2. A beginner or novice: a neophyte at politics.

    1. Roman Catholic Church A newly ordained priest.

    2. A novice of a religious order or congregation.


[Middle English, from Late Latin neophytus, from Greek neophutos : neo-, neo- + -phutos, planted (from phuein, to bring forth; see bheuə- in Indo-European roots).]
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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Word Origin & History

neophyte 
"new convert," c.1550, from L.L. neophytus, from Gk. neophytos, lit. "newly planted," from neos "new" + -phytos "planted," verbal adj. of phyein "cause to grow, beget, plant." Church sense is from I Tim. iii.6. Rare before 19c. General sense of "one who is new to any subject" is first recorded 1599.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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