Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A recent convert to a belief; a proselyte.
  • noun A beginner or novice.
  • noun Roman Catholic Church A newly ordained priest.
  • noun A novice of a religious order or congregation.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • Newly entered on some state; having the character of a novice.
  • noun A new convert; one newly initiated.
  • noun In the Roman Catholic Church, a converted heathen, heretic, etc.
  • noun Occasionally in the Roman Catholic Church, a novice.
  • noun A tiro; a beginner in learning.
  • noun Synonyms Proselyte, Apostate, etc. See convert.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun A new convert or proselyte; -- a name given by the early Christians, and still given by the Roman Catholics, to such as have recently embraced the Christian faith, and been admitted to baptism, esp. to converts from heathenism or Judaism.
  • noun A novice; a tyro; a beginner in anything.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun A beginner.
  • noun A novice (recent convert), a new convert or proselyte, a new monk.
  • noun Christianity A name given by the early Christians, and still given by the Roman Catholics, to those who have recently embraced the Christian faith, and been admitted to baptism, especially those converts from heathenism or Judaism.
  • noun biology A plant species recently introduced to an area (in contrast to archaeophyte, a long-established introduced species).

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun a new convert being taught the principles of Christianity by a catechist
  • noun any new participant in some activity
  • noun a plant that is found in an area where it had not been recorded previously

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English, from Late Latin neophytus, from Greek neophutos, newly planted, a recent convert : neo-, neo- + -phutos, planted (from phuein, to bring forth, make grow; see bheuə- in Indo-European roots).]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Latin neophytus, from Ancient Greek νεόφυτος (neophutos), from νέος (neos, "new") + φυτόν (phuton, "plant, child"). Surface analysis is neo- + -phyte.

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