novice

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English novice, also novis and novece,^[2][3] borrowed from Old French novice, also novisse,^[3][2][4][5] from Medieval Latin novicius (“a probationer in a religious order”),^[5][3][6] a noun use of Latin novīcius (“newly imported (of slaves); recently entered into some condition, inexperienced”).^[4][5][3] The Latin adjective is formed from novus (“new”) and the suffix -īcius,^[4][7] and novus goes back to Proto-Indo-European *newo- (“new”);^[6] it is related to new.^[5][8] In Old French the noun is recorded in the sense "inexperienced person" from the 13th century and "religious probationer" from 1275–80, and the adjective "inexperienced" from 1176;^[4] the Anglo-Norman noun is found from 1212 for a person who has entered a religious order but not yet taken vows.^[9] The Latin word also gave novicio, noviço and novizio.^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

An inexperienced person, a beginner: 1340, in the Ayenbite of Inwyt, where Barnhart reads both "beginner" and "probationer in a religious order".^[4][3] Etymonline instead puts the religious sense first, in the mid-14th century, and the sense "inexperienced person" in the early 15th century.^[5]

Semantic evolution

In Latin novīcius was used of a newly imported slave, and in post-classical Latin from the 5th century of a probationer in a religious order;^[4] both lines came into English, the religious use being recorded from about 1390, in a legend of St Bernard.^[4][2] In the 16th century the word was also used of a person newly converted to the faith, a sense the OED records from 1526 to 1879,^[4] and it was an adjective from 1530, "that is a novice".^[4] Johnson (1755) defined it as one not acquainted with a thing, "a fresh-man", quoting Shakespeare.^[10] The sporting sense, a competitor, often an animal, that has not yet won a major prize, appears in 1897, and the adjective for such competitors or events in 1895.^[4] In Yorkshire dialect novice (also nuvvis) was a word of reproach for an awkward or clumsy person, as a child who has broken something.^[11] In Canada it names one of the youngest levels of children's sport, especially hockey, an extension of the sense "beginner".^[12]

Timeline

• 1340 – an inexperienced person, a beginner, in the Ayenbite of Inwyt.^[4][3]
• c. 1390 – a probationer in a religious order.^[4][2]
• 1526 – a newly converted person (obsolete by 1879).^[4]
• 1530 – adjective, of or like a novice.^[4]
• 1600 – the derivative novitiate, from French.^[3]
• 1895 – adjective, of a competitor or event in sport.^[4]
• 1897 – noun, a competitor that has not won a major prize.^[4]

Meanings

Noun

1. A person who is new to an activity or situation and has little experience; a beginner: As a novice at chess, he lost every game.^[13][14][4]
2. A person who has entered a religious order and is on probation before taking vows.^[13][14][4]
3. In sport, a competitor, especially an animal, that has not yet won a recognized prize or reached a set level; a racehorse that has not won a set number of races.^[13][4][14]
4. In Canada, a level of children's sport, especially hockey, for the youngest players.^[12]
5. (obsolete, 1526–1879) A person newly received into the Church or newly converted to Christianity.^[4][14]

Adjective

1. Being a novice; inexperienced: a novice skier.^[4][13]
2. In sport, for or made up of novice competitors.^[4]

Word family

• novicehood
• novicelike

Related words

• novel
• novelize
• novella
• novelty
• novitiate
• new

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d Kurath, Hans; Kuhn, Sherman M.; Lewis, Robert E., eds. (1952–2001), Middle English Dictionary, Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press; online edition ed. Frances McSparran et al. (2000–2018)
3. ^ a b c d e f g Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
5. ^ a b c d e Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
6. ^ a b The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
7. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
8. ^ Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
9. ^ Anglo-Norman Dictionary (AND2), Aberystwyth University, anglo-norman.net (2nd ed., 2005–)
10. ^ Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
11. ^ Wright, Joseph, ed. (1898–1905), The English Dialect Dictionary, 6 vols., Oxford: Henry Frowde; via EDD Online 4.0, University of Innsbruck (CC BY 4.0)
12. ^ a b Dollinger, Stefan, ed., A Dictionary of Canadianisms on Historical Principles, 3rd ed. (online), Vancouver: University of British Columbia, dchp.arts.ubc.ca
13. ^ a b c d Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
14. ^ a b c d Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster