I'm New Here...

We all experience growing pains when we're in new environments, whether it is a new school or a new job. Sometimes our personal inexperience is to blame, but other times the situation itself is new and unclear because of it. Getting in on the ground floor of something can be exciting, but it can be scary, too. Here are fifteen words about situations that are new and people new to situations.
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. incipient
    only partly in existence; imperfectly formed
    There were two black-and-white films of the early 1960s that captured the incipient generational rebellion that was about to boil over.
    —Salon Jul 3, 2014
    From Latin incipere "to begin", consisting of in- "Into, in" and cipere "to take."
  2. emergent
    coming into existence
    China’s emergent cultural individualism will create local demand for greater freedom.
    —Salon May 19, 2013
    From Latin emergere "to rise out or up."
  3. nascent
    being born or beginning
    But venture capitalists are comfortable placing long bets on nascent enterprises with vague business plans and an uncertain path to success.
    —The New Yorker Aug 19, 2014
    From Latin nascentum, which mean "arising young, immature" and was the present participle of Latin nasci " to be born."
  4. embryonic
    in an early stage of development
    Peasants started to move to where they could earn more, ushering in an embryonic labor market.
    —Forbes Jul 10, 2014
    Embryo traces back to Greek Embryon, used to mean "young one" but literally "that which grows."
  5. fledgling
    young and inexperienced
    She had assumed that her low pay rate was the product of a fledgling female-run startup that had struggled to secure funding from venture capitalists.
    —Slate Aug 21, 2014
    Fledge was a designation for a bird ( the Old English flycge meant " having the feathers, fit to fly") and ling is a diminutive suffix. As a young bird is just beginning to fly, so is a fledgling enterprise just starting out.
  6. neophyte
    a participant with no experience with an activity
    Even more remarkable than a neophyte winning a primary election is how a veteran of politics would allow that to happen.
    —Washington Times Jun 16, 2014
    From Greek neophytus, "new convert", originally to the Church. The Greek literally translates as "newly planted."
  7. novice
    someone new to a field or activity
    "We're looking at really trying to develop a full spectrum of opportunities for the hard-core camper to the first-time novice."
    —Chicago Tribune Aug 29, 2014
    Latin novicius, the ancestor of this word, is a noun use of a Latin adjective meaning "newly imported, newly arrived, inexperienced."
  8. inception
    an event that is a beginning
    Since the festival’s inception, over 400 artists have performed, and countless millions have watched, many online.
    —Forbes Aug 31, 2014
    From Latin inceptionem, " a beginning, undertaking."
  9. rudimentary
    being in the earliest stages of development
    Before the crisis, the local government hospital lacked running water, had only recently obtained rudimentary electricity, and was understaffed and frequently out of drugs.
    —New York Times Aug 16, 2014
    Consisting of rudiment, which is most likely from Latin rudimentum "early training, first experience" and an English form that can turn nouns into adjectives,
    -ary.
  10. tyro
    someone new to a field or activity
    “He was a complete tyro,” Mr. Callow wrote, “discovering a new medium and unsure how it would work.”
    —New York Times Aug 7, 2013
    Medieval Latin tyro meant "young soldier, recruit, beginner", but beyond that the origin is unknown.
  11. tenderfoot
    an inexperienced person
    It was an easy task, and even the tenderfoot scout of the troop might have accomplished such a proposition without being coached.
    — Alan Douglas
    Tenderfoot is used as a designation for someone new to the farm or ranch, but it is also the official first rank acheived in the Boy Scouts.
  12. greenhorn
    an awkward and inexperienced youth
    In the midst of this are the greenhorn medical students, acutely aware of their lack of practical skills to do anything of use.
    —Slate Jun 4, 2013
    The sense of green that is applicable here is "young, inexperienced" and this word was indeed applied to cattle with new horns before being expanded to include inexperienced humans.
  13. apprentice
    someone who works for an expert to learn a trade
    Going to a vocational school or learning a trade as an apprentice, you can start earning money while you’re in school.
    —Forbes Nov 10, 2014
    From Old French aprentiz, "someone learning", which in turn came from the verb aprendre "to learn, to teach."
  14. inchoate
    only partly in existence; imperfectly formed
    Religions, like movies, are based in narratives, and they similarly seek to give structure to the inchoate stuff of life.
    —Slate Apr 26, 2013
    From an alteration of Latin incohare "to begin", originally "to hitch up", from in- "on" and cohum "strap fastened to an oxen's yoke."
  15. naif
    an inexperienced or foolishly innocent person
    For one thing, the history of fusion energy is filled with crazies, hucksters, and starry-eyed naifs chasing after dreams of solving the world's energy problems.
    —Slate Oct 16, 2014
    From French naïf, "naive." The Old French form could be used as both an adjective and a noun, the latter meaning "simpleton, natural fool", but while the English adjective is attested from the late 16th century, the noun did not surface in English until the late 19th century.
Created on Wed Sep 03 20:59:15 EDT 2014 (updated Tue Nov 11 17:50:41 EST 2014)

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