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novitiate

 
Dictionary: no·vi·ti·ate  no·vi·ci·ate (nō-vĭsh'ē-ĭt, -āt') pronunciation
also n.
  1. The period of being a novice.
  2. A place where novices live.
  3. See novice (sense 2).

[Medieval Latin novīciātus, from novīcius, novice. See novice.]


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Thesaurus: novitiate
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also noviciate

noun

  1. An entrant who has not yet taken the final vows of a religious order: novice. See religion.
  2. One who is just starting to learn or do something: abecedarian, beginner, fledgling, freshman, greenhorn, initiate, neophyte, novice, tenderfoot, tyro. Slang rookie. See start/end.

WordNet: novitiate
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Note: click on a word meaning below to see its connections and related words.

The noun has 2 meanings:

Meaning #1: the period during which you are a novice (especially in a religious order)
  Synonym: noviciate

Meaning #2: someone who has entered a religious order but has not taken final vows
  Synonym: novice


Wikipedia: Novitiate
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Novitiate, alt. noviciate, is the period of training and preparation that a novice (or prospective) monastic or member of a religious order undergoes prior to taking vows in order to discern whether they are called to the religious life.

A novice is free to quit the novitiate at any time, and the Superior is free to dismiss them with or without cause. During the novitiate, the novice is often clothed in special clothing which, while distinct from secular dress is not the full habit worn by professed members of the community. The novice's day normally encompasses participation in the full canonical hours, manual labor, and special classes designed to instruct the novices on the religious life they are preparing to embrace. Spiritual exercises and tests of humility are a common feature of the novitiate. Many communities encourage frequent confession and reception of Holy Communion by their novices.

A Superior will often appoint an experienced member of the community to oversee the training of novices. This may be a single novice master who is responsible for the training of all novices, or an individual elder may be appointed for each novice.

Different religious communities will have varying requirements for the duration of the novitiate. Often one must go through a postulancy before entering the novitiate. In the Eastern Orthodox Church, the novitiate is officially set at three years before one may be tonsured a monk or nun, though this requirement may be dispensed.

The term novitiate also referes to the building or complex within a monastery or convent which is devoted exclusively to the needs of novices (sleeping, training, etc.).

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noviceship
probationership
novice

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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
Thesaurus. Roget's II: The New Thesaurus, Third Edition by the Editors of the American Heritage® Dictionary Copyright © 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.  Read more
WordNet. WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.  Read more
Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Novitiate" Read more