newbie

Free On-line Dictionary of Computing

<jargon> /n[y]oo'bee/ (Sometimes shorted to "noob") Originally from British public-school and military slang variant of "new boy", an inexperienced user.

This term surfaced in the newsgroup news:talk.bizarre but is now in wide use. Criteria for being considered a newbie vary wildly; a person can be called a newbie in one group while remaining a respected regular in another. The label "newbie" is sometimes applied as a serious insult to a person who has been around for a long time but who carefully hides all evidence of having a clue.

See BIFF. [Jargon File]

(2007-08-02)

The Jargon File

[very common; orig. from British public-school and military slang variant of ‘new boy’] A Usenet neophyte. This term surfaced in the newsgroup talk.bizarre but is now in wide use (the combination “clueless newbie” is especially common). Criteria for being considered a newbie vary wildly; a person can be called a newbie in one newsgroup while remaining a respected regular in another. The label newbie is sometimes applied as a serious insult to a person who has been around Usenet for a long time but who carefully hides all evidence of having a clue. See B1FF; see also gnubie . Compare chainik, luser.