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greenhorn

noun
/ˈɡɹiːnˌhɔːɹn/UK/ˈɡɹinˌhoɹn/CA/ˈɡɹiːnˌhoːɹn/

Etymology

Inherited 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). Figurative use for people dates from the 17th century. Compare semantically German Grünschnabel (literally “green-beak”). By surface analysis, green + horn.

  1. inherited from grene horn

Definitions

  1. An inexperienced person

    An inexperienced person; a novice, beginner, or newcomer.

    • All you greenhorns who wanted to see Covenant up close...this is gonna be your lucky day.

  2. A Portuguese person.

    • She lives in New Bedford, and her dad's not around much and her mum calls her boyfriend a Portagee, a fuckin' greenhorn,

  3. A census-designated place in Plumas County, California, United States.

The neighborhood

Vish — recursive loop

No curated loop yet for greenhorn. Loops are being traced one word at a time while the ingestion pipeline matures.

sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA