Among the ancient Romans, a novice (novicius) was usually a newly enslaved person, who had to be trained in his or her duties. Among Catholics and Buddhists, if you desire to become a priest, monk, or nun, you must serve as a novice for a period of time, often a year (called your novitiate), before being ordained or fully professing your vows. No matter what kind of novice you are—at computers, at writing, at politics, etc.—you've got a lot to learn.
Novices serve time as scullery serfs as they work toward the privilege of trailing a pastry chef …—Guy Trebay, New York Times, 4 Sept. 2002For the novice, walking the course also means being scared senseless by all the possibilities to screw up.—Tim Keown, ESPN, 17 Sept. 2001Yet it's obvious to him and everyone else who the novice is here, the book-learned tournament virgin.—James McManus, Harper's, December 2000Much defter than one would have thought possible from the length of her fingernails, Toula had no fear of high fast notes; her flair, mounted between Andrea's perfectionist reserve and Alice's novice awkwardness, seemed all too displayed.—John Updike, The Afterlife, 1994
He's a novice in cooking.
a book for the novice chess player
Recent Examples on the WebFentanyl overdoses are now the leading cause of death for 18 to 45-year-olds — most of them caused by unintentional ingestion by young, novice and casual drug users.—Lisa M. Krieger, The Mercury News, 17 Mar. 2024 An at-home gel nail kit might be your ticket from novice to nail pro.—Kate Watson, Peoplemag, 16 Mar. 2024 Mark Rightmire/MediaNews Group/Orange County Register via Getty Images Facing the political novice and former baseball player in the fall could put Schiff on a glide path to the Senate seat.—Nikole Killion, CBS News, 5 Mar. 2024 For novice divers, Mauritius provides an exceptional environment with numerous dive spots less than 30 feet deep, featuring gentle waters devoid of waves or strong currents.—Judy Koutsky, Forbes, 24 Feb. 2024 For seasoned cooks and kitchen novices, cookbook author and nutritionist Robin Miller takes it back to basics with great, family-friendly recipes worth making over and over again.—Robin Miller, The Arizona Republic, 7 Mar. 2024 Garvey, 75, is both a Republican and a novice at politics.—Nicholas Riccardi, The Denver Post, 29 Feb. 2024 The adviser will know the questions to ask and the traps to avoid far better than any novice could.—Liz Weston, San Diego Union-Tribune, 25 Feb. 2024 While good for novices, two hands are definitely required—one for the opener and one to hold the bottle.—Maya Polton, Better Homes & Gardens, 8 Feb. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'novice.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Etymology
Middle English, borrowed from Anglo-French, "probationer in a religious community" (continental Old French also, "inexperienced person"), borrowed from Late Latin novīcius, going back to Latin, "newly enslaved person, person recently entered into a condition," as adjective, "newly imported, recently discovered, fashionable," from novus "new" + -īcius-itious — more at new entry 1
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