rookie

A rookie is a person new to an occupation, profession, or hobby. In sports, a rookie is a professional athlete in their first season (or year). In contrast with a veteran who has experience, a rookie is typically considered needing more training and learning, though they may bring a new outside expertise to a job. Etymology The Oxford English Dictionary states that the origins are uncertain, but that perhaps it is a corruption of the word recruit. The earliest example in the OED is from Rudyard Kipling's Barrack-Room Ballads (published 1892): "So 'ark an' 'eed, you rookies, which is always grumblin' sore", referring to rookies in the sense of raw recruits to the British Army. At least during the beginning of the 20th century, in the British Army the term "rookie" was typically used in place of "recruit" as exemplified in Trenching at Gallipoli by John Gallishaw (New York Century Co.: 1916) and in The Amateur Army by Patrick MacGill (London, Herbert Jenkins: 1915). Perhaps the expression is derived from "rook", whereby a "rookie" would be someone who is cheated or defrauded. Sports culture