Inexperience
/ˌɪn.ɪkˈspɪə.ri.əns/noun
Lack of practical knowledge or skill gained from doing something.
Did you know?Inexperience is a transparent English formation from Latin roots, and it literally encodes the idea of having not yet undergone the testing force of experience.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*per-
“to try, risk, or go through”
Latin
Latin
experiri
“to try, test, or prove by trial”
Latin
Latin
experientia
“a trial, proof, or practical knowledge gained by testing”
Late Latin
Latin
inexperientia
“lack of experience; untried condition”
Middle English
English
inexperience
“lack of experience or practical knowledge”
Modern English
English
inexperience
“lack of practical knowledge or skill gained from doing something”
Explore more surprising origins