Novice comes from the Latin novus meaning ‘new’. Today it is regularly used in a secular context, but it originally referred to the necessity of the novice undertaking a novitiate – a period of intense spiritual introspection and scriptural study prior to taking monastic vows.
Apprentice comes from the Latin apprehendere ‘to take hold of, to grasp’, the same root that gives us apprehend, but in this context it doesn’t refer to a physical apprehension (i.e. an arrest) but one of a mental nature. Apprenticeship systems were developed in the late Middle Ages as a way of providing master craftsmen with inexpensive labour in exchange for food, lodging and formal training.
Colt, which may come from the Swedish kuld ‘offspring’, can refer to a member of a junior sports team or a half-grown horse. This dual meaning can be ironically amusing, such as in the case of the pro-level NFL team, the Indianapolis Colts, which is no doubt intended to suggest that the team is in possession of the stamina of a young horse, rather than a preponderance of inexperienced boys.
Rookie, originating from the word ‘recruit’, initially referred to recent inductees in the army or police force, but is now most commonly used in relation to athletes. It’s an appropriate usage too, as it is an extension of ‘rook’, which refers to a cheat, and therefore a ‘rookie’ is a person easily duped by the rook. We can see this reflected in some of the hazing pranks played on new sporting team members, many of which leave them in a less than dignified state.
Cadet refers to a young person undergoing preliminary training prior to fully entering a profession. It is most often used in a military context, though some cultures also extend it to other fields – for example, in Australia a cadet could be a junior journalist or accountant. The word has its origins within the Gascon dialect of southwestern France; ‘capdet‘ referred to the head of a noble family, while its diminutive ‘cadet‘ referred to the ‘little head’ (usually the second son). It is thought that its military meaning came about through the Gascon practice of sending the younger sons of nobles to serve as officers in the French court.
Greenhorn has similarly blue-collar origins. As the colour green generally indicates that food is not yet ripe to eat, so too does greenhorn designate a person not ready to rope cattle, though it may also refer to an inexperienced jeweller overheating a cow’s horn before setting it, and thus turning it green. The term was applied to new soldiers from 1650, and more generally after 1680.
Newbie – or in the orthographically questionable parlance of the internet, noob – is most often used to refer to one who is inexperienced with videogames. In 2009 the Global Language Monitor announced noob as a finalist for selection as the one-millionth word to be added to the English language, however the honour ended up going to another piece of tech-speak: Web 2.0.
What’s your favourite ‘new’ word?
Happy puzzling!
