Word Confusion: Amateur vs Novice vs Tyro

Posted June 22, 2023 by Kathy Davie in Author Resources, Self-Editing, Word Confusions, Writing

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Initially, amateur vs novice vs tyro are defined as beginner. After that each deviates.

An amateur conflicts between someone who does something without being paid or being incompetent. I guess that might be why they’re not being paid??

A novice is someone who is new or inexperienced. They might also be a new monk or new convert to a religion.

A tyro is simply a beginner, one who might never be proficient.

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Word Confusions . . .

. . . started as my way of dealing with a professional frustration with properly spelled words that were out of context in manuscripts I was editing as well as books I was reviewing. It evolved into a sharing of information with y’all. I’m hoping you’ll share with us words that have been a bête noire for you from either end.

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Amateur	Novice	Tyro
Amateur Boxing Club, Portaethwy, Wales, 7 February 1963 by Geoff Charles is in the public domain, via Picryl.	Novice Monks, Wat Preah Prom Rath in Siem Reap, Cambodia, is Photogoddle‘s own work and is under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license, via Wikimedia Commons.	Only a Tyro Walks It is in the public domain, via Pxfuel.
Part of Grammar:
Adjective; Noun Plural for the noun: amateurs	Noun Plural: novices	Noun Plural: tyros
Adjective: Engaging or engaged in without payment Nonprofessional Done in an incompetent or inept way Noun: A person who engages in a pursuit, especially a sport, on an unpaid rather than a professional basis A person who is incompetent or inept at a particular activity	Noun: A person new to or inexperienced in a field or situation A person who has entered a religious order and is under probation, before taking vows A person newly become a church member A recent convert to Christianity An animal, especially a racehorse, that has not yet won a major prize or reached a level of performance to qualify for important events	Noun: A beginner in anything Novice A person who follows a pursuit without attaining proficiency or professional status
Examples:
Adjective: It’s all amateur athletics. He’s an amateur photographer. It’s all so amateur! Noun: It takes five years for a top amateur to become a real Tour de France rider. The painting was obviously done by an amateur. It’s his last fight as an amateur. They’re a bunch of stumbling amateurs.	Noun: He was a complete novice in foreign affairs. The novices spend part of each day in prayer and meditation. “Novices serve time as scullery serfs as they work toward the privilege of trailing a pastry chef or a garde-manger” (Trebay). “Captain Christy in 1974 and Coneygree in 2015 won the Cheltenham Gold Cup as novices” (Novice).	Noun: She shows talent but is still a mere tyro. Most of the people in the class were tyros like me. He’s a good musician, but at 14, he’s still a tyro and has a lot to learn. “Into the breach lunged Mr. Little, an unchallenged copywriting tyro such as only an agency chairman could be” (Mccall).
Derivatives:
Adjective: amateurish Adverb: amateurishly Noun: amateurishness, amateurism	Adjective: novicelike Noun: novicehood, novitiate	Adjective: tironic, tyronic
History of the Word:
Late 18th century from the French, which is from the Italian amatore, which is from the Latin amator meaning lover, from amare meaning to love.	Middle English from the Old French, from the late Latin novicius, from novus meaning new.	Late Middle English from the Latin tiro, the medieval Latin tyro meaning recruit.

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C’mon, get it out of your system, bitch, whine, moan . . . which words are your pet peeves? Also, please note that I try to be as accurate as I can, but mistakes happen or I miss something. Email me if you find errors, so I can fix them . . . and we’ll all benefit!

Satisfy your curiosity about other Word Confusions on its homepage or more generally explore the index of self-editing posts. You may also want to explore Book Layout & Formatting Ideas, Formatting Tips, Grammar Explanations, Linguistics, Publishing Tips, the Properly Punctuated, Writing Ideas and Resources, and Working Your Website.

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Resources for Amateur vs Novice vs Tyro

Some of these links may be affiliate links, and I will earn a small percentage, if you should buy it. It does not affect the price you pay.

Apple Dictionary.com

Dictionary.com: novice, tyro

Mccall, Bruce. “My Life in Cars.” The New Yorker. 12 Dec 2020. Web. 9 June 2023. <https://www.newyorker.com/culture/culture-desk/my-life-in-cars>.

Merriam-Webster: novice, tyro

“Novice (Racehorse).” Wikipedia. 3 Mar 2023. Web. 9 June 2023. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Novice_(racehorse)>.

Trebay, Guy. “How To Boil Four-Star Water.” The New York Times. 4 Sept 2002. Web. 9 June 2023. <https://www.nytimes.com/2002/09/04/dining/how-to-boil-four-star-water.html>.

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