neophyte

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin neophytus, from Ancient Greek νεόφυτος (neóphutos, “newly planted”), from νέος (néos, “new”) + φυτόν (phutón, “plant, child”). Surface analysis is neo- + -phyte.

noun

1. A beginner; a person who is new to a subject, skill, or belief.
   […]everyone has to own the floors of whoever you vote for, whether they are a lying handsy narcissistic sociopath[…] or a conspiracy-pandering political neophyte with no clear understanding of how government operates and who once recorded this folk rap about the virtues of bicycling. Oct 16 2016, “Third Parties”, in Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, season 3, episode 26, spoken by John Oliver, via HBO
2. A novice (recent convert); a new convert or proselyte; a new monk.
   The neophyte was given a new name in place of the baptismal one, usually of an evil and revolting character, and this was written in blood in the Devil's book, the covers of which were bound in the skin of unbaptised infants. 1936, Rollo Ahmed, The Black Art, London: Long, page 107
3. (Christianity) A name given by the early Christians, and still given by the Roman Catholics, to those who have recently embraced the Christian faith, and been admitted to baptism, especially those converts from heathenism or Judaism.
4. (botany) A plant species recently introduced to an area (in contrast to archaeophyte, a long-established introduced species).