beginner

English

Etymology

From Middle English begynner, equivalent to begin +‎ -er. Cognate with West Frisian begjinner (“beginner”), Dutch beginner (“beginner”), Low German begünner (“beginner”), Danish nybegynder (“beginner, novice”, literally “new-beginner”).

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /bɪˈɡɪnə/

• Audio (Southern England)

  (file)

• (US) IPA^(key): /bəˈɡɪnɚ/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

Noun

beginner (plural beginners)

1. Someone who is just starting at something, or has only recently started.

   I'm new to learning Finnish: I'm just a beginner.

2. Someone who sets something in motion.

   The beginner of the games lit the ceremonial torch.

3. (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 […]

Synonyms

• (recent starter): amateur, newbie
• See also Thesaurus:beginner

Derived terms

• beginnerish
• beginner slope
• beginner's trap

Translations

Further reading

• “beginner”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
• “beginner”, in The Century Dictionary , New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.

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)

1. 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