neophyte

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The Word of the Day for October 27, 2007 is: 

neophyte   \NEE-uh-fyte\   noun
          1 : a new convert : proselyte
     2 : novice
    *3 : tyro, beginner

Example sentence:
          Anna, a skiing neophyte, stayed on the bunny slope while her friends 
went up the mountain.

Did you know?
          “Neophyte” is hardly a new addition to the English language (it’s 
been part of the English vocabulary since the 1300s), but it wasn’t in general 
use before the 19th century. When it was used in a 16th-century translation of 
the Bible, some folks derided it as pretentious and Latinate. One critic lumped 
it with other “ridiculous inkhorn terms” and another went as far as to write, 
“Neophyte, to a bare Englishman is nothing at all.” The criticisms of 
“neophyte” weren’t entirely justified, given the word’s long history in 
English, but it is true that “neophyte” has classical roots. It traces back 
through Late Latin to the Greek “neophytes,” meaning “newly planted” or “newly 
converted.”





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