A beginner; one who is not very familiar or experienced in a particular subject.
"The novice struggled to tie his shoes before finally getting them on correctly."
In plain English: A novice is someone who has just started learning something and does not have much experience yet.
"The novice struggled to tie his shoes before finally getting them laced correctly."
Usage: Use "novice" to describe someone new to a specific skill or field, such as calling a first-time runner a novice rather than using the more general term "beginner." Avoid confusing it with nouns like "expert," which describes high levels of experience and mastery.
The word novice comes from the Latin novīcius, which originally described someone who had just arrived at a monastery or convent. It traveled into English through French and Middle English to mean a beginner in any field, retaining its core sense of being new.