Skip to content

novice

novice, beginner

noun noh-VEES Rare
People & Society Education

Origin: From Latin 'novicius' (new).

Usage Note

novice is both masculine and feminine with no change in form: un novice, une novice. It also has a specific religious sense: a person in a monastery who has not yet taken permanent vows. In secular use it is neutral and not condescending, unlike débutant which can sound patronising.

Examples

"En tant que novice, elle pose beaucoup de questions."

Natural Translation

As a novice, she asks a lot of questions.

Explore French by topic