catechumen

From Middle English cathecumynys pl, from Middle French cathecumin (modern French catéchumène) or Ecclesiastical Latin catēchūmenus, itself a borrowing from Ancient Greek κατηχούμενος (katēkhoúmenos, “being instructed”), present participle passive of κατηχέω (katēkhéō, “sound through, instruct orally, catechise”), from κατά (katá, “down”) + ἠχή (ēkhḗ, “sound”).