layman
Outsider to expertise
A layman is someone without specialized knowledge or professional training in a particular field.
Doctors explain conditions in layman's terms—language non-experts can understand.
The word originally distinguished ordinary church members from clergy, and this religious sense persists in some contexts.
The female form is laywoman, with laypeople or laypersons as gender-neutral plurals.
One lacking formal credentials
- outsiderOne excluded from group
- amateurNonprofessional participant
- generalistOne with broad expertise
- dilettanteSuperficial pursuer of arts
untrained · inexperienced · unqualified · uninitiated · unschooled · uninformed · unversed · untutored
One who lacks experience
- neophyteInexperienced beginner
- rookieInexperienced newcomer
- apprenticeLearner bound to employer
- traineeOne being instructed
greenhorn · fledgling · newbie · learner · initiate · novitiate · tyro · recruit
Member of a congregation
- congregantMember of a worship assembly
- churchgoerOne attending religious services
- believerOne who accepts something
- worshipperOne who venerates
flock · faithful · communicant · secular · unordained · nonclergy · deacon · lector
Ordinary representative person
- citizenLegal national member
- publicAvailable to all
- massesBulk or populace
- populaceInhabitants of a place
folk · grassroots · rank-and-file · mainstream · average person · common people · general public · ordinary citizen
nonprofessional
One lacking formal credentials
- outsiderOne excluded from group
- amateurNonprofessional participant
- generalistOne with broad expertise
dilettante · untrained · inexperienced · unqualified · uninitiated · unschooled · uninformed · unversed · untutored · inexpert
beginner
One who lacks experience
- neophyteInexperienced beginner
- rookieInexperienced newcomer
- apprenticeLearner bound to employer
trainee · greenhorn · fledgling · newbie · learner · initiate · novitiate · tyro · recruit · student
parishioner
Member of a congregation
- congregantMember of a worship assembly
- churchgoerOne attending religious services
- believerOne who accepts something
worshipper · flock · faithful · communicant · secular · unordained · nonclergy · deacon · lector · acolyte
everyman
Ordinary representative person
populace · folk · grassroots · rank-and-file · mainstream · average person · common people · general public · ordinary citizen · plain folks
- Everymanaverage Joe, everyman, regular Joe, regular guy, Joe Blow
- amateursamateur, hobbyist, nonprofessional, dabbler, novice
- novicesnovice, beginner, rookie, newbie, greenhorn
- secularsecular, worldly, temporal, mundane, profane
- peoplepeople, persons, person, individuals, humans
- skill levelsbeginner, novice, intermediate, expert, advanced
laymanexpert
Highly skilled practitioner
specialist · professional · authority · pro · master
laymanclergyman
Ordained religious leader
priest · cleric · clergy · ordained minister · ecclesiastic
- layman's termsNon-specialist phrasing
- in layman's termsNon-technical explanation phrase
- layman's guideNon-technical introduction to subject