Etymologically
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novice

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Pronunciation

  • /ˈnɒvɪs/[1]
  • US: /ˈnɑvɪs/[1]

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

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