What does neophyte mean?
i’m guessing it’s ne/on + futo/n, new + shoot/plant, like a young plant… a metaphor for someone new to something 
it’s not a metaphor, you’ll find it in an english dictionary as a proper word, I’m sure. means ‘beginner’ 
.
but yeah, originally a metaphor of course. could be from the participle of to plant (something newly planted) too.