newbie
American Heritage Dictionary:
Top
new·bie
Top
A first-time user. A newbie may be a novice in anything; using a computer, a video game, a particular operating system, the Internet, etc. Also called a "newb," "noob" or "nub."
Download Computer Desktop Encyclopedia to your PC, iPhone or Android.
Top
Origin: 1993
It was the year of the newbies, upsetting the cozy cyber-community (1994) on the Internet (1988). Remember? Time wrote in December 1993, "Instead of feeling surrounded by information, first-timers ('newbies' in the jargon of the Net) are likely to find themselves adrift in a borderless sea." The next year Info World complained, "Because so many newbees are logging in every day, it is getting harder and harder to get connected to those information sources that are popular."
Newbie is especially popular in, and seems to have been popularized through, the informal communications which abound on the Internet listservers--those electronic bulletin boards where subscribers are supposed to stick to the topic, but frequently digress, especially if they are newbies. Such digressions can prompt flame wars (1992) from the regulars.
Before they burgeoned on the Internet, newbees played football. Here is a report on the San Diego Chargers from the Los Angeles Times of August 1985: "It had to do with newbees. I could be wrong on the spelling, but newbees are the rookies among the Blue Angels. Three of these newbees happened to be having a peaceful lunch when suddenly they were called upon to sing. This is what happens to rookies--or newbees--at the Charger training camps." References to newbies in the military, the mafia, and politics also predate the explosive popularity of newbie among Internet users.
Newbie probably owes some connection in its construction to Wannabe (1981) and freebie (1942) and even the much older used-to-be (1853) and wouldbe (1605). The spelling still varies between newbie and newbee, though the pronunciation is the same in either case.
Top
[very common; orig. from British public-school and military slang variant of ‘new boy’] A Usenet neophyte. This term surfaced in the newsgroup talk.bizarre but is now in wide use (the combination “clueless newbie” is especially common). Criteria for being considered a newbie vary wildly; a person can be called a newbie in one newsgroup while remaining a respected regular in another. The label newbie is sometimes applied as a serious insult to a person who has been around Usenet for a long time but who carefully hides all evidence of having a clue. See B1FF; see also gnubie. Compare chainik, luser.
Top
noun
noun, orig US military
A person new to some activity, a tyro; recently, esp. a new user of computer technology, esp. the Internet. (1970 —) .
Wired The first 30 pages of Net Guide contain how-to instructions, so even newbies can jump in (1993).
[Origin uncertain; perh. an alteration of newienoun something or someone new.]
noun, orig US military
A person new to some activity, a tyro; recently, esp. a new user of computer technology, esp. the Internet. (1970 —) .
Wired The first 30 pages of Net Guide contain how-to instructions, so even newbies can jump in (1993).
[Origin uncertain; perh. an alteration of newie
| neves, never-never, never | |
| newsie, newspaper, next |
Random House Word Menu:
Top
categories related to 'newbie'
- Internet and World Wide Web - newbie: someone new to Internet or Web use
Wikipedia on Answers.com:
Top
Newbie
For the Wikipedia behavioral guideline, see WP:NEWBIES.
Not to be confused with Newby (disambiguation).
"Noob" redirects here. For the Mortal Kombat character, see Noob Saibot.
Newbie, newb, n00b or noob is a slang term for a novice or newcomer, or somebody inexperienced in any profession or activity. Contemporary use can particularly refer to a beginner or new user of computers, often concerning Internet activity, such as online gaming[1] or Linux use.[2][3] It can have derogatory connotations, but is also often used for descriptive purposes only, without a value judgment.
The term's origin is uncertain. Earliest uses probably date to late twentieth century U.S. military jargon, though possible precursor terms are much earlier. Variant forms of the noun include newby and newbee, while the related term noob (often spelt n00b) is often used in online gaming.
|
Contents
|
History
Its etymology is uncertain. It may derive from "newie", which is attested in U.S. and Australian sources of the 1850s and means a neophyte in a place or situation; alternatively, it may derive from the British public school slang "new boy" or "new blood", which is attributed to the same era and was applied to a schoolboy in his first term.[4]
In the 1960s–1970s the term "newbie" had a limited usage among U.S. troops in the Vietnam War as a slang term for a new man in a unit.[5] Its earliest known usage on the Internet may have been on the Usenet newsgroup talk.bizarre.[6] The term is believed to have entered online usage by 1981.[7]
Variants
Coming from an oral tradition, the term has variant spellings. Among alternative forms are newby, nubie, and "newbee" (e.g. Los Angeles Times of August 1985: "It had to do with newbees. I could be wrong on the spelling, but newbees are the rookies among the Blue Angels...").[4]
Two related terms are "newb", a beginner who is willing to learn; and "noob" (often spelt "n00b" or "nub"), a derogatory name.[8] "noob" was among candidates for the one-millionth English word selection by the Global Language Monitor.[9][10]
See also
- FNG, another term for someone new to a unit used in the Vietnam War.
- Layman
References
- ^ MIT.edu
- ^ [1]
- ^ [2]
- ^ a b "newbie" The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., 1989, OED Online, Oxford University Press, (subscription needed) March 08, 2010.
- ^ Entry for newbie in John Robert Elting, Ernest L. Deal, and Dan Cragg, A Dictionary of Soldier Talk, New York: Scribner, 1984, p. 209. ISBN 0-684-17862-1
- ^ "Newbie". Jargon File. Catb.org. http://catb.org/jargon/html/N/newbie.html. Retrieved May 5, 2009.
- ^ Dyker, Barbara (June 1, 1988). "Re: some (should-be) ground-rules for submissions to comp.binaries.*". comp.sys.mac. (Web link). Retrieved May 5, 2009.
- ^ Broek, Anna Vander (April 23, 2009). "Gamer Speak for Newbs". Forbes. http://www.forbes.com/2009/04/23/words-online-gaming-opinions-books-newbs.html. Retrieved February 16, 2010.
- ^ Moore, Matthew (May 6, 2009). "One millionth English word could be 'defriend' or 'noob'". telegraph.co.uk. Telegraph Media Group. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/culturenews/5285085/One-millionth-English-word-could-be-defriend-or-noob.html. Retrieved February 16, 2010.
- ^ "The Global Language Monitor: Millionth Word Finalists Announced". Global Language Monitor. May 29, 2009. http://www.languagemonitor.com/news/millionth-word-finalists-announced038. Retrieved September 18, 2009. "N00b – From the Gamer Community; a neophyte in playing a particular game; used as a disparaging term."
External links
 |
Look up newbie in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. |
This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)
Translations:
Top
Newbie
Post a question - any question - to the WikiAnswers community:
Copyrights:
American Heritage Dictionary
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Read more
Computer Desktop Encyclopedia
THIS DEFINITION IS FOR PERSONAL USE ONLY.
All other reproduction is strictly prohibited without permission from the publisher.
© 1981-2012 The Computer Language Company Inc. All rights reserved. Read more
All other reproduction is strictly prohibited without permission from the publisher.
© 1981-2012 The Computer Language Company Inc. All rights reserved. Read more
Houghton Mifflin Word Origins
America in So Many Words, by David K.Barnhart and Allan A. Metcalf. Copyright © 1997 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Read more
Oxford Dictionary of Modern Slang
Oxford University Press. © 1997, 2008, 2010
All rights reserved.
Read more
Random House Word Menu
© 2010 Write Brothers Inc. Word Menu is a registered trademark of the Estate of Stephen Glazier.
Write Brothers Inc.
All rights reserved.
Read more
Wikipedia on Answers.com
This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article Newbie.
Read more
