uninitiated

English

Etymology

un- +‎ initiated

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ʌnɪnˈɪʃi.eɪtɪd/

Adjective

uninitiated (not comparable)

1. Not having been initiated; not having the special knowledge of a particular group.

   His jargon-filled talk was gibberish to the uninitiated, but clear and concise to practitioners.

   • 1863, Sir William Smith, editor, A Dictionary of the Bible: Comprising its Antiquities, Biography, Geography and Natural History‎^[1], Volume III. Red Sea-Zuzims, Little, Brown, and Co, Versions, Ancient (Targum), pages 1653–1654:

     Even in the midst of the full swing of fancy, swayed to and fro by the many currants of thought that arise out of a single word, snatches of the verse from which the flight was taken will suddenly appear on the surface like a refrain or a keynote, showing that in reality there is a connexion, though hidden to the uninitiated.

   • 1914, William Halse Rivers Rivers, The History of Melanesian Society‎^[2], volume 2, Part 1, Adegi Graphics, published 2001, →ISBN, Chapter XXXIII. Religion and Magic, page 411:

     To the uninitiated, the belief not merely in the influence of the dead, but in their actual presence during secret rites is, or has until lately been, very real, and in so far as the uninitiated are brought into relation with the societies will possess a religious character.

   • 1962 January, “Tape recorders: A quick guide for the uninitiated”, in Herbet L. Brown Jr, editor, Changing Times: The Kiplinger Magazine‎^[3], volume 16, number 1, Kiplinger Washington Editors, →ISSN, page 13:

     A quick guide for the uninitiated

   • 2008, David E. Johnson, Anthropology's Wake: Attending to the End of Culture‎^[4], Fordham University Press, →ISBN, Ex-Cited Dialogue, page 107:

     Although the priests are the initiated, they remain ignorant and incapable of instructing the uninitiated in the proper method of painting the temples.

Usage notes

• Often used as a noun.

Translations

not having been initiated; not having the special knowledge of a particular group

• Czech: nezasvěcený
• Dutch: ongeintroduceerde
• Finnish: perehtymätön
• French: non-initié (fr), béotien (fr), profane (fr)
• Greek: αμύητος (el) (amýitos)

  Ancient: ἀμύητος (amúētos)