novitiate
no·vi·ti·ate/nəˈvɪʃi.ət/noun
novitiate is spelled N-O-V-I-T-I-A-T-E: 9 letters and 4 syllables (no·vi·ti·ate). It appears about once in every 7 million words in written English, the 81,375th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, novitiate means “A novice” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of novitiate is novitiates.
How many letters and syllables are in novitiate?
| Letters | 9: N-O-V-I-T-I-A-T-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 4: no·vi·ti·ate |
| In writing | about once in every 7 million words; the 81,375th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is novitiate?
Novitiate appears about once in every 7 million words in written English, the 81,375th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce novitiate?
- /nəˈvɪʃi.ət/
- /nəʊ-/
Novitiate has 4 syllables, split no·vi·ti·ate in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-novitiate.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of novitiate
- novitiates plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does novitiate mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A novice.
- 2
The period during which a novice of a religious order undergoes training.
- 3
The place where a novice lives and studies.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Novitiate in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense the period during which a novice of a religious order undergoes training:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| German | Noviziat |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does novitiate come from?
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.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).