freshman

English

Etymology

From fresh +‎ man.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈfɹɛʃmən/

Noun

freshman (plural freshmen)

1. (obsolete) A novice; one in the rudiments of knowledge.
   • 1619 August 6, James Howell, The Familiar Letters of James Howell, volume 1, published 1892, Letter XIII, page 39:

     I am but a Freshman yet in France, therefore I can send you no News but that all is here quiet, and 'tis no ordinary News that the French should be quiet.

2. (US) A person of either sex entering the first year of an institution, especially a high school (ninth grade), a university, or legislative body.

   At the time I was a wide-eyed freshman, but I was soon to grow jaded and cynical.

   • 1596, Thomas Nashe, Have with You to Saffron-Walden:

     When he was but yet a freshman in Cambridge.

   • 1611, Thomas Middleton, The Roaring Girl, act 3, scene 3:

     Sir Alexander: Then he's a graduate.
     Sir Davy: Say they trust him not?
     Sir Alexander: Then is he held a freshman and a sot,¶ And never shall commence, but being still barr'd¶ Be expuls'd from the master's side to th' twopenny ward,¶ Or else i' th' hole be plac'd.

Synonyms

• (British) fresher
• (Canadian) grade nine student / grade 9 student / Grade 9 student / grade-niner / grade niner
• (Canadian) first-year student / first year student / first-year university student / first year university student
• (US) frosh

Translations

novice; one in the rudiments of knowledge

• Danish: grønskolling c
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• German: Neuling (de) m

a person of either sex entering the first year of an institution

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 一年級新生／一年级新生, 一年级新生 (yīniánjí xīnshēng), 新生 (zh) (xīnshēng)

• Danish: rus c
• Dutch: feut (nl) m
• Finnish: fuksi (fi)
• French: bizut (fr) / bizuth (fr), bleu (fr) m, bleue (fr) f
• German: Neuntklässler m, Neuntklässlerin f, Highschool-Schüler im ersten Jahr m, Highschool-Schülerin im ersten Jahr f, Student im ersten Jahr m, Studentin im ersten Jahr f, Student im ersten Semester m, Studentin im ersten Semester f, Student im ersten Studienjahr m, Studentin im ersten Studienjahr f
• Hungarian: elsőéves (hu), gólya (hu)
• Italian: matricola (it) f
• Japanese: 新入生 (しんにゅうせい, shinnyūsei), 一年生 (いちねんせい, ichinensei)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Korean: 신입생 (ko) (sinipsaeng) (新入生 (ko)), 일학년 (ilhangnyeon) (first-year student)
• Macedonian: бруцош m (brucoš)
• Norwegian: første klasse, førstis ( slang )
• Portuguese: calouro (pt), caloiro (pt), bicho (pt) m
• Russian: первоку́рсник (ru) m (pervokúrsnik), первоку́рсница (ru) f (pervokúrsnica) (first-year student)
• Slovene: bruc m
• Spanish: novato (es) m, mechón (es) mcachimbo (es) m
• Swedish: förstaårselev c, recentior (sv) c
• Tagalog: untaunan
• Welsh: glasfyfyriwr m

See also

• junior
• senior
• sophomore
• upperclassman

Anagrams

• Fehrmans