Newbie
Newbie or noob is a slang term for a novice or newcomer, or somebody inexperienced in any profession or activity. Contemporary use can particularly refer to a beginner or new user of computers, often concerning Internet activity, such as online gaming. It can have derogatory connotations but is also often used for descriptive purposes only, without a value judgment.
A newcomer to BDSM; or, more generally, a newcomer to any sport, hobby, or subculture.
The term's origin is uncertain. Earliest uses probably date to late twentieth-century U.S. military jargon, though possible precursor terms are much earlier. Variant forms of the noun include newby and newbee, while the related term noob (often spelled n00b) is often used in online gaming.
History
Its etymology is uncertain. It may derive from "newie", which is attested in U.S. and Australian sources of the 1850s and means a neophyte in a place or situation; alternatively, it may derive from the British public school slang "new boy" or "new blood", which is attributed to the same era and was applied to a schoolboy in his first term.
In the 1960s–1970s, the term "newbie" had a limited usage among U.S. troops in the Vietnam War as a slang term for a new man in a unit. Its earliest known usage on the Internet may have been on the Usenet newsgroup talk.bizarre. The term is believed to have entered online usage by 1981.
Variants
Coming from an oral tradition, the term has variant spellings. Among alternative forms are newby, nubie, and "newbee" (e.g. Los Angeles Times of August 1985: "It had to do with newbees. I could be wrong on the spelling, but newbees are the rookies among the Blue Angels...").
Two related terms are "newb", a beginner who is willing to learn; and "noob" (often spelled "n00b" or "nub"), a derogatory name. "noob" was among candidates for the one-millionth English word selection by the Global Language Monitor.
"FNG",, or "Fucking New Guy" is a derogatory term, used within the military of the USA deployed to South East Asia during the Vietnam War, usually to refer to newcomers.
See also
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