beginner
English
Etymology
From Middle English begynner, equivalent to begin + -er. Cognate with West Frisian begjinner (“beginner”), Dutch beginner (“beginner”), Danish nybegynder (“beginner, novice”).
Pronunciation
- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /bɪˈɡɪnə/
Audio (RP) (file) - (US) IPA(key): /bəˈɡɪnɚ/
Noun
beginner (plural beginners)
- Someone who is just starting at something, or has only recently started.
- I'm new to learning Japanese: I'm just a beginner.
- Someone who sets something in motion.
- The beginner of the games lit the ceremonial torch.
- (theater) An actor who is present on stage in the first moments of a play.
- 1949, Walter Macqueen-Pope, Gaiety: Theatre of Enchantment (page 60)
- On the stage, the beginners for the first piece had taken their places — the chorus were there, scared but determined, and in the wings waited Harlequin, in the person of Charles Lyall […]
- 1949, Walter Macqueen-Pope, Gaiety: Theatre of Enchantment (page 60)
Synonyms
- (recent starter): amateur, newbie
- See also Thesaurus:beginner
Derived terms
- beginnerish
- beginner's trap
Translations
someone who just recently started
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someone who sets something in motion
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- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Translations to be checked
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Further reading
- beginner in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
- beginner in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911
Anagrams
- benigner, bergenin
Dutch
Etymology
From beginnen + -er.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /bəˈɣɪnər/
Audio (file) - Hyphenation: be‧gin‧ner
- Rhymes: -ɪnər
Noun
beginner m (plural beginners, diminutive beginnertje n)
- Someone who is just starting something, or has only recently started (similar to English)
- Hij kan goed schaken voor een beginner. ― He plays chess well for a beginner.
Derived terms
- beginnerscursus