Greenhands

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Inexperienced people, especially new workers on a ship or farm who have yet to learn their trade ; novices who are still unfamiliar with the work they have been hired to perform
2. Newcomers to a trade, particularly beginners aboard a vessel or on a farm who lack practical skill ; the untrained hands recently taken on to labor alongside seasoned crew
3. Raw recruits and beginners, often on ships or rural estates, who are not yet competent at their assigned tasks ; fresh workers taken on without prior experience of the job

Etymology: "Greenhands" is the plural of "greenhand," a term for an inexperienced new worker, especially one new to a trade, a ship's crew, or a job site. The singular is built from "green," used since Old English for something young, fresh, or untrained, and "hand," a common old word for a worker or laborer, as in "farmhand" or "deckhand." Together the compound describes a person whose hands have not yet learned the work.

Synonyms: novice, tyro, beginner, rookie, apprentice

Antonyms: veteran, expert, old hand