neophyteyoudaoicibaDictYouDict[neophyte 词源字典]
neophyte: [16] Neophyte is one of an evergrowing family of English words containing the prefix neo-, which comes from Greek néos ‘new’ (a relative of English new). Most of them are English formations (neoclassical [19], Neolithic [19], neologism [18], neonatal [20], neoplatonism [19], etc), but neophyte goes back to a Greek compound, neóphutos, which meant literally ‘newly planted’. Also derived from Greek néos is the name of the gas neon [19], so called in 1898 because it was ‘newly’ discovered.
=> neon, new[neophyte etymology, neophyte origin, 英语词源]
neophyte (n.)youdaoicibaDictYouDict
"new convert," 1550s, from Church Latin neophytus, from Greek neophytos "a new convert," noun use of adjective meaning "newly initiated, newly converted," literally "newly planted," from neos "new" (see new) + phytos "grown; planted," verbal adjective of phyein "cause to grow, beget, plant" (see physic). Church sense is from I Tim. iii:6. Rare before 19c. General sense of "one who is new to any subject" is first recorded 1590s.