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Newbie, newb, noob, noobie, n00b or nub is a slang term for a novice or newcomer, or somebody inexperienced in a profession or activity. Contemporary use can particularly refer to a beginner or new user of computers, often concerning Internet activity, such as online gaming^[1] or Linux use.^[2]^[3]

The origin of this term is uncertain. Earliest uses probably date to late twentieth century United States Armed Forces jargon, though possible precursor terms are much earlier. Variant forms of the noun include newby and newbie, while the related term noob (often stylized as "n00b") is often used in online gaming.

History

The etymology of the term is uncertain. It may derive from "newie", which is attested in U.S. and Australian sources of the 1850s, meaning 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.^[4]

In the 1960s and 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.^[5]

Another use of the term newbee was the moniker given to new U.S. Navy recruit students attending Basic Electricity and Electronics school by more senior students, a requisite course prior to enrollment in the A-school course at Naval Air Technical Training Center, Millington, Tennessee.^{[citation needed]}

Its earliest known usage on an internet^{[note 1]} may have been on the Usenet newsgroup talk.bizarre.^[6] The term is believed to have entered online usage by 1981.^[7]

Coming from an oral tradition, the term has various 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 newbies are the rookies among the Blue Angels.").^[4]

In 2000, Electronic Arts released The Sims. The game featured a tutorial house with a family called The Newbies.^[8]

In 2009, "noob" was among candidates for the one-millionth English word selection by the Global Language Monitor.^[9]^[10]

Connotations of variants

Different spellings can have quite different connotations; so in some contexts a "newb" refers to a beginner who is willing to learn,^[11] while a "noob" refers disparagingly to an inexperienced or under-talented hacker or gamer who lacks the determination to learn.^[11]

The origin of "nub" means "non-usable body" in the context of military submarines. It referred to crew that were too new to contribute, while wasting precious oxygen.

Similar terms in other languages

In Korean, the equivalent term is chobo or hasu, the opposite of gosu, meaning "highly skilled".^{[citation needed]}
In Chinese, cainiao (simplified Chinese: 菜鸟; traditional Chinese: 菜鳥; pinyin: càiniǎo; lit. 'vegetable bird'). It either originated from Hong Kong^[12] or from the Taiwanese army.^{[citation needed]} It became an Internet slang term used in the Chinese-speaking community.

Notes

^ As Usenet predated the Internet (the globally interconnected networks most commonly used as of 2020), 'an internet' here refers to Usenet, which is an interconnected network in itself.

References

^ "MIT.edu". Web.mit.edu. Archived from the original on July 8, 2012. Retrieved July 9, 2012.
^ "LinuxQuestions.org". LinuxQuestions.org. Archived from the original on February 7, 2018. Retrieved July 9, 2012.
^ "Ubuntu Forums". Ubuntu Forums. Archived from the original on May 3, 2022. Retrieved July 9, 2012.
^ ^a ^b "newbie Archived March 27, 2020, at the Wayback Machine" The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., 1989, OED Online, Oxford University Press, (subscription needed) March 8, 2010.
^ Entry for newbie in John Robert Elting, Ernest L. Deal, and Dan Cragg, A Dictionary of Soldier Talk, New York: Scribner, 1984, p. 209. ISBN 0-684-17862-1
^ "Newbie". Jargon File. Catb.org. Archived from the original on February 26, 2009. Retrieved May 5, 2009.
^ Dyker, Barbara (June 1, 1988). "Re: some (should-be) ground-rules for submissions to comp.binaries.*". Newsgroup: comp.sys.mac. Archived from the original on September 27, 2011. Retrieved May 5, 2009.
^ Ericka Blye (January 21, 2020). "The Sims: The Longest Existing Families". The Gamer. Webtoon. Archived from the original on February 27, 2020. Retrieved March 25, 2021.
^ Moore, Matthew (May 6, 2009). "One millionth English word could be 'defriend' or 'noob'". The Telegraph. Telegraph Media Group. Archived from the original on January 12, 2022. Retrieved February 16, 2010.
^ "The Global Language Monitor: Millionth Word Finalists Announced". Global Language Monitor. May 29, 2009. Archived from the original on August 24, 2009. Retrieved September 18, 2009. N00b – From the Gamer Community; a neophyte in playing a particular game; used as a disparaging term.
^ ^a ^b Broek, Anna Vander (April 23, 2009). "Gamer Speak for Newbs". Forbes. Archived from the original on April 9, 2012. Retrieved February 16, 2010.
^ 都市汉子 (July 4, 2005). "试论网络语言的基本特点上" [On the Basic Characteristics of Internet Slangs] (in Simplified Chinese). Archived from the original on December 1, 2005. Retrieved October 31, 2018.

External links

Merriam Webster on Newbie

[6] As Usenet predated the Internet (the globally interconnected networks most commonly used as of 2020), 'an internet' here refers to Usenet, which is an interconnected network in itself.

[1] "MIT.edu". Web.mit.edu. Archived from the original on July 8, 2012. Retrieved July 9, 2012.

[2] "LinuxQuestions.org". LinuxQuestions.org. Archived from the original on February 7, 2018. Retrieved July 9, 2012.

[3] "Ubuntu Forums". Ubuntu Forums. Archived from the original on May 3, 2022. Retrieved July 9, 2012.

[oed-4] "newbie Archived March 27, 2020, at the Wayback Machine" The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., 1989, OED Online, Oxford University Press, (subscription needed) March 8, 2010.

[5] Entry for newbie in John Robert Elting, Ernest L. Deal, and Dan Cragg, A Dictionary of Soldier Talk, New York: Scribner, 1984, p. 209. ISBN 0-684-17862-1

[esr-7] "Newbie". Jargon File. Catb.org. Archived from the original on February 26, 2009. Retrieved May 5, 2009.

[8] Dyker, Barbara (June 1, 1988). "Re: some (should-be) ground-rules for submissions to comp.binaries.*". Newsgroup: comp.sys.mac. Archived from the original on September 27, 2011. Retrieved May 5, 2009.

[9] Ericka Blye (January 21, 2020). "The Sims: The Longest Existing Families". The Gamer. Webtoon. Archived from the original on February 27, 2020. Retrieved March 25, 2021.

[10] Moore, Matthew (May 6, 2009). "One millionth English word could be 'defriend' or 'noob'". The Telegraph. Telegraph Media Group. Archived from the original on January 12, 2022. Retrieved February 16, 2010.

[11] "The Global Language Monitor: Millionth Word Finalists Announced". Global Language Monitor. May 29, 2009. Archived from the original on August 24, 2009. Retrieved September 18, 2009. N00b – From the Gamer Community; a neophyte in playing a particular game; used as a disparaging term.

[forbes-12] Broek, Anna Vander (April 23, 2009). "Gamer Speak for Newbs". Forbes. Archived from the original on April 9, 2012. Retrieved February 16, 2010.

[13] 都市汉子 (July 4, 2005). "试论网络语言的基本特点上" [On the Basic Characteristics of Internet Slangs] (in Simplified Chinese). Archived from the original on December 1, 2005. Retrieved October 31, 2018.

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@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
+{{Short description|Slang term for a novice or newcomer}}{{Other uses}}
 {{pp-vandalism|small=yes}}
-{{other uses}}
 {{Use mdy dates|date=November 2012}}
-'''Newbie''', '''newb''', '''noob''', or '''nub''' is a [[slang]] term for a [[wikt:novice|novice]] or [[wikt:newcomer|newcomer]], or somebody inexperienced in a profession or activity. Contemporary use can particularly refer to a beginner or new user of computers, often concerning [[Internet]] activity, such as [[Online game|online gaming]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://web.mit.edu/dryfoo/Masonry/Misc/welaish.html |title=MIT.edu |publisher=Web.mit.edu |access-date=July 9, 2012}}</ref> or [[Linux]] use.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.linuxquestions.org |title=LinuxQuestions.org |publisher=LinuxQuestions.org |access-date=July 9, 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://ubuntuforums.org |title=Ubuntu Forums |publisher=Ubuntu Forums |access-date=July 9, 2012}}</ref> Depending on the context and spelling variant used, the term can have derogatory connotations (and be used as a term of abuse in Internet-based games)—but is also often used for descriptive purposes only, without any value judgment.
+'''Newbie''', '''newb''', '''noob''', '''noobie''', '''n00b''' or '''nub''' is a [[slang]] term for a [[wikt:novice|''novice'']] or [[wikt:newcomer|''newcomer'']], or somebody inexperienced in a profession or activity. Contemporary use can particularly refer to a beginner or new user of computers, often concerning [[Internet]] activity, such as [[Online game|online gaming]]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://web.mit.edu/dryfoo/Masonry/Misc/welaish.html |title=MIT.edu |publisher=Web.mit.edu |access-date=July 9, 2012 |archive-date=July 8, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120708225739/http://web.mit.edu/dryfoo/Masonry/Misc/welaish.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> or [[Linux]] use.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.linuxquestions.org/ |title=LinuxQuestions.org |publisher=LinuxQuestions.org |access-date=July 9, 2012 |archive-date=February 7, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180207010101/https://www.linuxquestions.org/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://ubuntuforums.org/ |title=Ubuntu Forums |publisher=Ubuntu Forums |access-date=July 9, 2012 |archive-date=May 3, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220503233544/https://ubuntuforums.org/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
-The origin of this term is uncertain. Earliest uses probably date to late twentieth century [[United States Armed Forces]] [[Military slang|jargon]], though possible precursor terms are much earlier. Variant forms of the noun include newby and newbee, while the related term [[Leet#n00b|noob]] (often stylized as "n00b") is often used in online gaming.
+The origin of this term is uncertain. Earliest uses probably date to late twentieth century [[United States Armed Forces]] [[Military slang|jargon]], though possible precursor terms are much earlier. Variant forms of the noun include newby and newbie, while the related term [[Leet#n00b|noob]] (often stylized as "n00b") is often used in online gaming.
 ==History==
-Etymology of the term is uncertain. It may derive from "newie", which is attested in U.S. and Australian sources of the 1850s, meaning a neophyte in a place or situation; alternatively, it may derive from the British [[Independent school (UK)|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.<ref name="oed">"[http://dictionary.oed.com/cgi/entry/00323814 newbie]" ''The Oxford English Dictionary'', 2nd ed., 1989, ''OED Online'', Oxford University Press, (subscription needed) March 8, 2010.</ref>
+The etymology of the term is uncertain. It may derive from "newie", which is attested in U.S. and Australian sources of the 1850s, meaning a neophyte in a place or situation; alternatively, it may derive from the British [[Independent school (UK)|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.<ref name="oed">"[http://dictionary.oed.com/cgi/entry/00323814 newbie] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200327185742/https://public.oed.com/help/ |date=March 27, 2020 }}" ''The Oxford English Dictionary'', 2nd ed., 1989, ''OED Online'', Oxford University Press, (subscription needed) March 8, 2010.</ref>
 In the 1960s and 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.<ref>Entry for ''newbie'' in John Robert Elting, Ernest L. Deal, and Dan Cragg, ''A Dictionary of Soldier Talk'', New York: [[Charles Scribner's Sons|Scribner]], 1984, p. 209. {{ISBN|0-684-17862-1}}</ref>
-Another use of the term newbee was the moniker given to new U.S. Navy recruit students attending Basic Electricity and Electronics school by more senior students, a requisite course prior to enrollment in the A-school course at Naval Air Technical Training Center, [[Millington, Tennessee]].{{cn|date=August 2017}}
+Another use of the term newbee was the moniker given to new U.S. Navy recruit students attending Basic Electricity and Electronics school by more senior students, a requisite course prior to enrollment in the A-school course at Naval Air Technical Training Center, [[Millington, Tennessee]].{{citation needed|date=August 2017}}
-Its earliest known usage on an internet{{Refn|As Usenet predated the Internet (the globally interconnected networks most commonly used as of 2020), 'an internet' here refers to Usenet, which is an interconnected network in itself.|group=note}} may have been on the [[Usenet]] newsgroup ''talk.bizarre''.<ref name="esr">{{cite web|url=http://catb.org/jargon/html/N/newbie.html |title=Newbie |publisher=Catb.org |work=[[Jargon File]] |access-date=May 5, 2009}}</ref> The term is believed to have entered online usage by 1981.<ref>{{cite newsgroup |title=Re: some (should-be) ground-rules for submissions to comp.binaries.* |author=Dyker, Barbara |date=June 1, 1988 |newsgroup=comp.sys.mac |url=http://groups.google.com/group/comp.sys.mac/msg/68659de9d2d8e42d?hl=en |access-date=May 5, 2009}}</ref>
+Its earliest known usage on an internet{{Refn|As Usenet predated the Internet (the globally interconnected networks most commonly used as of 2020), 'an internet' here refers to Usenet, which is an interconnected network in itself.|group=note}} may have been on the [[Usenet]] newsgroup ''talk.bizarre''.<ref name="esr">{{cite web |url=http://catb.org/jargon/html/N/newbie.html |title=Newbie |publisher=Catb.org |work=[[Jargon File]] |access-date=May 5, 2009 |archive-date=February 26, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090226195631/http://catb.org/jargon/html/N/newbie.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The term is believed to have entered online usage by 1981.<ref>{{cite newsgroup |title=Re: some (should-be) ground-rules for submissions to comp.binaries.* |author=Dyker, Barbara |date=June 1, 1988 |newsgroup=comp.sys.mac |url=http://groups.google.com/group/comp.sys.mac/msg/68659de9d2d8e42d?hl=en |access-date=May 5, 2009 |archive-date=September 27, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110927085309/http://groups.google.com/group/comp.sys.mac/msg/68659de9d2d8e42d?hl=en |url-status=live }}</ref>
-Coming from an oral tradition, the term has various 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]].").<ref name="oed"/>
+Coming from an oral tradition, the term has various 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 newbies are the rookies among the [[Blue Angels]].").<ref name="oed"/>
+In 2000, [[Electronic Arts]] released [[The Sims (video game)|The Sims]]. The game featured a tutorial house with a family called The Newbies.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.thegamer.com/the-sims-longest-existing-families/|title=The Sims: The Longest Existing Families|work=[[The Gamer]]|publisher=[[Webtoon (platform)|Webtoon]]|date=January 21, 2020|author=Ericka Blye|access-date=March 25, 2021|archive-date=February 27, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200227091840/https://www.thegamer.com/the-sims-longest-existing-families/|url-status=live}}</ref>
-In 2009, "noob" was among candidates for the one-millionth English word selection by the [[Global Language Monitor]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/culturenews/5285085/One-millionth-English-word-could-be-defriend-or-noob.html|title=One millionth English word could be 'defriend' or 'noob'|work=The Telegraph |publisher=[[The Daily Telegraph|Telegraph Media Group]] |date=May 6, 2009|author=Moore, Matthew|access-date=February 16, 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.languagemonitor.com/news/millionth-word-finalists-announced038 |title=The Global Language Monitor: Millionth Word Finalists Announced |work=[[Global Language Monitor]] |quote=N00b&nbsp;– From the Gamer Community; a neophyte in playing a particular game; used as a disparaging term. |date=May 29, 2009 |access-date=September 18, 2009}}</ref>
+In 2009, "noob" was among candidates for the one-millionth English word selection by the [[Global Language Monitor]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/culturenews/5285085/One-millionth-English-word-could-be-defriend-or-noob.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220112/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/culturenews/5285085/One-millionth-English-word-could-be-defriend-or-noob.html |archive-date=January 12, 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|title=One millionth English word could be 'defriend' or 'noob'|work=The Telegraph |publisher=[[The Daily Telegraph|Telegraph Media Group]] |date=May 6, 2009|author=Moore, Matthew|access-date=February 16, 2010}}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.languagemonitor.com/news/millionth-word-finalists-announced038 |title=The Global Language Monitor: Millionth Word Finalists Announced |work=[[Global Language Monitor]] |quote=N00b&nbsp;– From the Gamer Community; a neophyte in playing a particular game; used as a disparaging term. |date=May 29, 2009 |access-date=September 18, 2009 |archive-date=August 24, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090824131842/http://www.languagemonitor.com/news/millionth-word-finalists-announced038 |url-status=live }}</ref>
 ==Connotations of variants==
-Different spellings can have quite different connotations; so in some contexts a "newb" refers to a beginner who is willing to learn;<ref name=forbes/> while a "[[Leet#n00b|noob]]", refers disparagingly to an inexperienced or under-talented hacker or gamer who lacks the determination to learn.<ref name=forbes>{{cite web |url=https://www.forbes.com/2009/04/23/words-online-gaming-opinions-books-newbs.html|title=Gamer Speak for Newbs|work=[[Forbes]] |author=Broek, Anna Vander |date=April 23, 2009|access-date=February 16, 2010}}</ref>
+Different spellings can have quite different connotations; so in some contexts a "newb" refers to a beginner who is willing to learn,<ref name=forbes/> while a "[[Leet#n00b|noob]]" refers disparagingly to an inexperienced or under-talented hacker or gamer who lacks the determination to learn.<ref name=forbes>{{cite web|url=https://www.forbes.com/2009/04/23/words-online-gaming-opinions-books-newbs.html|title=Gamer Speak for Newbs|work=[[Forbes]]|author=Broek, Anna Vander|date=April 23, 2009|access-date=February 16, 2010|archive-date=April 9, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120409134803/http://www.forbes.com/2009/04/23/words-online-gaming-opinions-books-newbs.html|url-status=live}}</ref>
+The origin of "nub" means "non-usable body" in the context of military submarines. It referred to crew that were too new to contribute, while wasting precious oxygen.
 ==Similar terms in other languages==
-* In [[Korean language|Korean]], the equivalent term is '''''[[:wikt:初步|chobo]]''''' or '''''hasu''''', the opposite of ''[[gosu]]'', meaning "highly skilled".{{cn|date=May 2017}}
+* In [[Korean language|Korean]], the equivalent term is '''''[[:wikt:初步|chobo]]''''' or '''''hasu''''', the opposite of ''[[gosu]]'', meaning "highly skilled".{{citation needed|date=May 2017}}
-* In [[Chinese language|Chinese]], '''''[[:wikt:菜鳥|cainiao]]''''' ({{Lang-zh |t=菜鳥 |s=菜鸟 |p=càiniǎo |l=vegetable bird }}). It either originated from [[Hong Kong]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.chinaonlineedu.com/tougao/special.asp?id=96 |lang=zh-hans |author=都市汉子 |title=试论网络语言的基本特点上 |trans-title=On the Basic Characteristics of Internet Slangs |date=2005-07-04 |access-date=2018-10-31 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051201120216/http://www.chinaonlineedu.com/tougao/special.asp?id=96 |archive-date=2005-12-01}}</ref> or from the [[Republic of China Army|Taiwanese army]].{{cn|date=March 2019}} It became an [[Chinese Internet slang|Internet slang term used in the Chinese-speaking community]].
+* In [[Chinese language|Chinese]], '''''[[:wikt:菜鳥|cainiao]]''''' ({{Lang-zh |t=菜鳥 |s=菜鸟 |p=càiniǎo |l=vegetable bird }}). It either originated from [[Hong Kong]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.chinaonlineedu.com/tougao/special.asp?id=96 |language=zh-hans |author=都市汉子 |title=试论网络语言的基本特点上 |trans-title=On the Basic Characteristics of Internet Slangs |date=2005-07-04 |access-date=2018-10-31 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051201120216/http://www.chinaonlineedu.com/tougao/special.asp?id=96 |archive-date=2005-12-01}}</ref> or from the [[Republic of China Army|Taiwanese army]].{{citation needed|date=March 2019}} It became an [[Chinese Internet slang|Internet slang term used in the Chinese-speaking community]].
 ==See also==
@@ Line 43: / Line 47: @@
 {{internet slang}}
+{{Authority control}}
 [[Category:Beginners and newcomers]]

v t e Internet slang
Abuse	Baizuo Creepy treehouse Cyberbullying Cyberstalking Doxing Edgelord Flaming Griefer Hacker Keylogger Little Pink Malware Sealioning Phishing Script kiddie Shitposting Shadow banning Spamming Tankie Troll
Chatspeak	Emoticon uwu Emoji Hodl Leet Owned Pr0n Pwn Teh w00t Fap LOL NSFW Padonkaffsky jargon Sexting
Imageboard	4chan Anonymous -chan CP Clop goatse.cx Lolcat Lurk Newbie O RLY? OP Pedobear Rickrolling Rule 34 Rule 63 Tripcode Weeaboo Yiff
Memes	Advertising and products Animation and comics Challenges Email Film Gaming Images Music Politics Videos Miscellaneous Doge TL;DR
Usenet	Eternal September
Category Portal Wiktionary