freshperson

English

Etymology

From fresh +‎ person.

Pronunciation

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Noun

freshperson (plural freshpersons or freshpeople)

1. (sometimes humorous) A freshman of any gender.
   • 1976 December 4, John W. Atteridg, “The First Time and All Those That Came After”, in Gay Community News, volume 4, number 23, page 12:

     Four years ago I furthered my education at a small, rural, New England arts college. The first day we freshpeople arrived (somehow it seemed natural for me to go to a coed school despite my sexual orientation), the infirmary had a questionnaire for us to fill out.

   • 1991 October 2, Barry Deutsch, Cast of Thousands‎^[1] (comic), University of Massachusetts Amherst:

     A junior. Periodically she terrorizes some freshperson, then hides in her room and won't come out till someone promises her she has free will.

Usage notes

• Some institutions have adopted this term because it sounds more gender-neutral. It may, though, be perceived as humorously oversensitive, and is sometimes used jocularly.