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See also: Greenhorn

English

Etymology

From Middle English grene horn, which is attested for “horn of a recently killed animal” and as the name of a horse. It may also have been used of young horned animals. In all cases “green” refers to the idea of “fresh, young, recent”, taken from plants and used in Middle English for all kinds of things irrespective of their colour, e.g. wounds, leather, fish, cheese (see green cheese).^[1] Figurative use for people dates from the 17th century.^[2] Compare semantically German Grünschnabel (literally “green-beak”).

Noun

greenhorn (plural greenhorns)

(chiefly US) An inexperienced person; a novice, beginner or newcomer.
- 1847, George Frederick Augustus Ruxton, Adventures in Mexico and the Rocky Mountains, page 267:
  The powers of the Canadian voyageurs and hunters in the consumption of meat strike the greenhorn with wonder and astonishment; and are only equalled by the gastronomical capabilities exhibited by Indian dogs, both following the same plan in their epicurean gorgings.
- 2001 November 15, Bungie, Halo: Combat Evolved, v1.0, Microsoft Game Studios, Xbox, level/area: The Pillar of Autumn:
  All you greenhorns who wanted to see Covenant up close...this is gonna be your lucky day.
(chiefly Massachusetts, ethnic slur, offensive) A Portuguese person.
- 1993, Common Lives, Lesbian Lives- Issues 47-49, page 37:
  She lives in New Bedford, and her dad's not around much and her mum calls her boyfriend a Portagee, a fuckin' greenhorn,

Synonyms

See also Thesaurus:beginner

Derived terms

greenhornism

Translations

inexperienced person

Bulgarian: нова́к (bg) m (novák), аджами́я (bg) m (adžamíja)
Catalan: passerell (ca) m
Chinese:
Mandarin: 新手 (zh) (xīnshǒu), 生手 (zh) (shēngshǒu), 初學者／初学者 (zh) (chūxuézhě), (disparaging) 菜鳥／菜鸟 (zh) (càiniǎo)
Czech: zelenáč m
Danish: grønskolling c
Dutch: melkmuil (nl), vlasbaard
Esperanto: flavbekulo (eo)
Finnish: märkäkorva, keltanokka (fi)
French: béjaune (fr) m; blanc-bec (fr) m, bleu (fr) m
German: Grünschnabel (de) m (green beak), Gelbschnabel (yellow beak)
Hungarian: zöldfülű (hu)
Icelandic: grænjaxl (is) m
Italian: pivello (it) m
Japanese: 初心者 (ja) (しょしんしゃ, shoshinsha), 初学者 (ja) (しょがくしゃ, shogakusha), (disparaging) 青二才 (ja) (あおにさい, aonisai)
Maori: tangata ihu hūpē (idiomatic)
Norwegian: grønnskolling (no) m
Polish: żółtodziób (pl) m
Portuguese: café com leite (pt)
Romanian: mucos (ro) m
Russian: новичо́к (ru) m (novičók), новоприбы́вший (ru) m (novopribývšij), зелёный (ru) m (zeljónyj), (disparaging, especially navy) сала́га (ru) m or f (salága), (disparaging) молокосо́с (ru) m (molokosós)
Spanish: novicio (es) m, aprendiz (es) m or f, novato (es) m, pipiolo (es) m, bisoño (es) m
Swedish: gröngöling (sv) c
Tagalog: singki
Turkish: acemi çaylak (tr)

References

^ grẹ̄ne in Middle English Dictionary
^ Douglas Harper (2001–2024) “greenhorn”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.

[1] rẹ̄ne in Middle English Dictionary

[OnlineED-2] Douglas Harper (2001–2024) “greenhorn”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.

[1]

[2]

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
+{{also|Greenhorn}}
 ==English==
 ===Etymology===
+From {{inh|en|enm|[[grene]] [[horn]]}}, which is attested for “horn of a recently killed animal” and as the name of a horse. It may also have been used of young horned animals. In all cases “green” refers to the idea of “fresh, young, recent”, taken from plants and used in Middle English for all kinds of things irrespective of their colour, e.g. wounds, leather, fish, cheese (see [[green cheese]]).<ref>[https://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/middle-english-dictionary/dictionary/MED19378/ grẹ̄ne] in Middle English Dictionary</ref> Figurative use for people dates from the 17th century.<ref name="OnlineED">{{R:Online Etymology Dictionary}}</ref> Compare semantically {{cog|de|Grünschnabel|lit=green-beak}}.
-Unconfirmed. Hypotheses include:
-* {{inh|en|enm|grene horne}}, the horn of a newly slaughtered animal <!-- This etymology is cited at www.thefreedictionary.com and attributed to the American Heritage dictionary -->
-* From the reference to an animal with ''green'' (that is, young) horns <!-- This etymology is also cited at www.thefreedictionary.com and is attributed to Collins Essential English Dictionary. The Random House Unabridged Dictionary also supports this derivation and goes on to assert that the term traces to the mid-15th century. -->
-* From 17th century jewelery manufacturing which used decorated horn which was impressed at a specific temperature. If heated too high (a common mistake by apprentices), the horn turned green. <!-- This alleged origin was contributed at the Wikipedia page by an anonymous user on 26 Dec 2006. It is uncorroborated. -->
-* From a misappropriation of the German expression "Grün hinter den Ohren" (to be green behind the ears).
 ===Noun===
 {{en-noun}}
-# {{lb|en|chiefly|US}} an [[inexperienced]] person; a [[novice]], [[beginner]] or [[newcomer]]
+# {{lb|en|chiefly|US}} An [[inexperienced]] person; a [[novice]], [[beginner]] or [[newcomer]].
-#* {{quote-text|year=1847|author=George Frederick Augustus Ruxton|title=Adventures in Mexico and the Rocky Mountains|page=267|passage=The powers of the Canadian voyageurs and hunters in the consumption of meat strike the '''greenhorn''' with wonder and astonishment; and are only equalled by the gastronomical capabilities exhibited by Indian dogs, both following the same plan in their epicurean gorgings.}}
+#* {{quote-text|en|year=1847|author=George Frederick Augustus Ruxton|title=Adventures in Mexico and the Rocky Mountains|page=267|passage=The powers of the Canadian voyageurs and hunters in the consumption of meat strike the '''greenhorn''' with wonder and astonishment; and are only equalled by the gastronomical capabilities exhibited by Indian dogs, both following the same plan in their epicurean gorgings.}}
+#* {{quote-video game|en|developer=Bungie|authorlink=Bungie|title=[[w:Halo: Combat Evolved|Halo: Combat Evolved]]|publisher=w:Microsoft Game Studios|date=15 November 2001|system=[[w:Xbox (console)|Xbox]]|version=1.0|level=[https://www.halopedia.org/The_Pillar_of_Autumn_(Halo:_Combat_Evolved_level) The Pillar of Autumn]|passage=All you '''greenhorns''' who wanted to see Covenant up close...this is gonna be your lucky day.}}
+# {{lb|en|chiefly|Massachusetts|ethnic slur|offensive|}} A Portuguese person.
+#* {{quote-book|en|year=1993  |title=Common Lives, Lesbian Lives- Issues 47-49   |author=  |page=37 |ISBN= |passage=She lives in New Bedford, and her dad's not around much and her mum calls her boyfriend a Portagee, a fuckin' '''greenhorn''', }}
 ====Synonyms====
-* See also [[Wikisaurus:beginner]]
+* See also [[Thesaurus:beginner]]
 ====Derived terms====
@@ Line 22: / Line 22: @@
 ====Translations====
 {{trans-top|inexperienced person}}
-* Bulgarian: {{t+|bg|новак|m|sc=Cyrl}}
+* Bulgarian: {{t+|bg|нова́к|m}}, {{t+|bg|аджами́я|m}}
+* Catalan: {{t+|ca|passerell|m}}
 * Chinese:
-*: Mandarin: {{t+|cmn|新手|tr=xīnshǒu|sc=Hani}}, {{t+|cmn|生手|tr=shēngshǒu|sc=Hani}}, {{t+|cmn|初學者|sc=Hani}}, {{t+|cmn|初学者|tr=chūxúezhě|sc=Hani}}, {{qualifier|disparaging}} {{t+|cmn|菜鳥|sc=Hani}}, {{t+|cmn|菜鸟|tr=càiniǎo|sc=Hani}}
+*: Mandarin: {{t+|cmn|新手|tr=xīnshǒu}}, {{t+|cmn|生手|tr=shēngshǒu}}, {{t+|cmn|初學者|tr=chūxuézhě}}, {{qualifier|disparaging}} {{t+|cmn|菜鳥|tr=càiniǎo}}
 * Czech: {{t|cs|zelenáč|m}}
+* Danish: {{t|da|grønskolling|c}}
 * Dutch: {{t+|nl|melkmuil}}, {{t|nl|vlasbaard}}
 * Esperanto: {{t+|eo|flavbekulo}}
-* Finnish: {{t|fi|märkäkorva}}
+* Finnish: {{t|fi|märkäkorva}}, {{t+|fi|keltanokka}}
 * French: {{t+|fr|béjaune|m}}; {{t+|fr|blanc-bec|m}}, {{t+|fr|bleu|m}}
 * German: {{t+|de|Grünschnabel|m}} {{gloss|green beak}}, {{t|de|Gelbschnabel}} {{gloss|yellow beak}}
 * Hungarian: {{t+|hu|zöldfülű}}
+* Icelandic: {{t+|is|grænjaxl|m}}
-{{trans-mid}}
 * Italian: {{t+|it|pivello|m}}
-* Japanese: {{t|ja|初心者|tr=しょしんしゃ, shoshinsha|sc=Jpan}}, {{t|ja|初学者|tr=しょがくしゃ, shogakusha|sc=Jpan}}, {{qualifier|disparaging}} {{t+|ja|青二才|tr=あおにさい, aonisai|sc=Jpan}}
+* Japanese: {{t+|ja|初心者|tr=しょしんしゃ, shoshinsha|sc=Jpan}}, {{t+|ja|初学者|tr=しょがくしゃ, shogakusha|sc=Jpan}}, {{qualifier|disparaging}} {{t+|ja|青二才|tr=あおにさい, aonisai|sc=Jpan}}
+* Maori: {{t|mi|tangata ihu hūpē}} {{qualifier|idiomatic}}
-* Polish: {{t+|pl|żółtodziób}}
-* Portuguese: {{t|pt|café com leite}}
+* Norwegian: {{t+|no|grønnskolling|m}}
+* Polish: {{t+|pl|żółtodziób|m}}
+* Portuguese: {{t+|pt|café com leite}}
 * Romanian: {{t+|ro|mucos|m}}
-* Russian: {{t+|ru|новичо́к|m}}, {{t|ru|новоприбы́вший|m}}, {{t+|ru|зелёный|m}}, {{qualifier|disparaging, especially navy}} {{t+|ru|сала́га|m|f}}, {{qualifier|disparaging}} {{t+|ru|молокосо́с|m}}
+* Russian: {{t+|ru|новичо́к|m}}, {{t+|ru|новоприбы́вший|m}}, {{t+|ru|зелёный|m}}, {{qualifier|disparaging, especially navy}} {{t+|ru|сала́га|m|f}}, {{qualifier|disparaging}} {{t+|ru|молокосо́с|m}}
-* Spanish: {{t|es|novicio|m}}, {{t+|es|aprendiz|m|f}}, {{t+|es|novato|m}}, {{t+|es|pipiolo|m}}
+* Spanish: {{t+|es|novicio|m}}, {{t+|es|aprendiz|m|f}}, {{t+|es|novato|m}}, {{t+|es|pipiolo|m}}, {{t+|es|bisoño|m}}
 * Swedish: {{t+|sv|gröngöling|c}}
 * Tagalog: {{t|tl|singki}}
@@ Line 45: / Line 49: @@
 {{trans-bottom}}
+====References====
-[[Category:en:People]]
+<references/>
+{{cln|en|bahuvrihi compounds}}
-[[cs:greenhorn]]
+{{C|en|People}}
-[[et:greenhorn]]
+{{cln|en|adjective-noun compound nouns}}
-[[fa:greenhorn]]
-[[fr:greenhorn]]
-[[ko:greenhorn]]
-[[hy:greenhorn]]
-[[io:greenhorn]]
-[[it:greenhorn]]
-[[kn:greenhorn]]
-[[pl:greenhorn]]
-[[ru:greenhorn]]
-[[sv:greenhorn]]
-[[ta:greenhorn]]
-[[te:greenhorn]]
-[[vi:greenhorn]]
-[[zh:greenhorn]]