Etymology

rookie

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Today it means: An inexperienced recruit, especially in the police or armed forces. Full definition →

Dutch broekie ← Irish rúca
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The story

  1. Irish · derived fromrúca“an inexperienced person”
  2. Dutch · derived frombroekie
  3. English todayrookie

Thought to be an alteration of recruit + -ie, or from rook (“a cheat”) + -ie. Another possible origin is Dutch broekie (short for broekvent (“a boy still in short trousers”)), a common term for a shipmate. Also suggested is Irish rúca (“an inexperienced person”).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.