novitiate

or no·vi·ci·ate

[noh-vish-ee-it, -eyt]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR novitiate ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

the state or period of being a novice of a religious order or congregation.

the quarters occupied by religious novices during probation.

the state or period of being a beginner in anything.

a novice.

Origin of novitiate

1590–1600; < Medieval Latin, equivalent to novīti(us) novice + -ātus -ate³

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for novitiate

amateur, learner, fish, novice, recruit, neophyte, initiate, newcomer, abecedarian, student, trainee, freshman, fledgling, tenderfoot, greenhorn, tyro, colt, starter, apprentice, probationer

Examples from the Web for novitiate

Historical Examples of novitiate

The novitiate has its great joys, but it has its great trials also.
The Christian
Hall Caine
So she began her novitiate and was presently received into the order.
A Little Girl in Old Detroit
Amanda Minnie Douglas
The air of assurance and dignity about it all was exceedingly noticeable to the novitiate.
Sister Carrie
Theodore Dreiser
It may have been so; he was still in his novitiate of infamy.
The Miscellaneous Writings and Speeches of Lord Macaulay, Vol. 2 (of 4)
Thomas Babington Macaulay
We ourselves do not care to take pupils who have no idea at all of the novitiate.
The Master Mummer
E. Phillips Oppenheim

British Dictionary definitions for novitiate

novitiate

noviciate

noun

the state of being a novice, esp in a religious order, or the period for which this lasts

the part of a religious house where the novices live

a less common word for novice

Word Origin for novitiate

C17: from French noviciat, from Latin novīcius novice

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for novitiate

also noviciate, "state of being a novice," c.1600, from Middle French noviciat or directly from Medieval Latin novitiatus, from Late Latin novitius "novice," from Latin adjective novicius (see novice).