Meanings
plural novitiates
- A novice.
- The period during which a novice of a religious order undergoes training.
Three weeks after the departure of the Mandevilles, all Naples flocked to witness the profession of a young Englishwoman, a dispensation having been obtained for the novitiate.
1831, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], chapter X, in Romance and Reality. […], volume III, London: Henry Colburn and Richard Bentley, […], →OCLC, page 214 - The place where a novice lives and studies.
Synonyms & antonyms
nounthe period during which you are a novice (especially in a religious order)
nounsomeone who has entered a religious order but has not taken final vows
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Latinnovicius, novitius
- Medieval Latinnoviciātus, novitiātus“a novitiate”
- Middle Frenchnoviciat, novitiat
- Englishnovitiate
First attested in 1517; either borrowed from Middle French noviciat, novitiat or from Medieval Latin noviciātus, novitiātus (“a novitiate”), from Latin novicius, novitius + -ātus (see -ate (forming nouns denoting a rank or office)), from novus (“new”). Sense 1 is not attested in cognates.
More words from Middle French, Medieval Latin, Latin
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Bulgarian послушник
- послушник (poslušnik)a novice
Dutch novice, noviciaat
- novicea novice
- noviciaatthe period during which a novice of a religious order undergoes training
- novitiaatthe period during which a novice of a religious order undergoes training
German Noviziat
- Noviziatthe period during which a novice of a religious order undergoes training
Polish nowicjusz, nowicjuszka
- nowicjusza novice
- nowicjuszkaa novice
- nowicjatthe period during which a novice of a religious order undergoes training
Russian послу́шник, послушница
- послу́шник (poslúšnik)a novice
- послушница (poslušnica)a novice
- послушничество (poslušničestvo)the period during which a novice of a religious order undergoes training
Swedish novitiat
- novitiatthe period during which a novice of a religious order undergoes training
Rhymes & wordplay
Anagrams
Cite this entry
novitiate. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/novitiate
“novitiate.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/novitiate. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “novitiate,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/novitiate.
Source: novitiate on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.