novel

¹

[ nov-uhl ]

noun

1. a fictitious prose narrative of considerable length and complexity, portraying characters and usually presenting a sequential organization of action and scenes.
2. (formerly) novella ( def 1 ).

novel

²

[ nov-uhl ]

adjective

1. of a new and unusual kind; different from anything seen or known before:

   a novel idea.

2. not previously detected or reported:

   the emergence of novel strains of the virus.

novel

³

[ nov-uhl ]

noun

1. Roman Law.
   1. an imperial enactment subsequent and supplementary to an imperial compilation and codification of authoritative legal materials.
   2. Usually Novels, imperial enactments subsequent to the promulgation of Justinian's Code and supplementary to it: one of the four divisions of the Corpus Juris Civilis.
2. Civil Law. an amendment to a statute.

novel

¹

/ ˈnɒvəl /

noun

1. an extended work in prose, either fictitious or partly so, dealing with character, action, thought, etc, esp in the form of a story
2. the novel
   the literary genre represented by novels
3. obsolete.
   usually plural a short story or novella, as one of those in the Decameron of Boccaccio

novel

²

/ ˈnɒvəl /

adjective

1. of a kind not seen before; fresh; new; original

   a novel suggestion

novel

³

/ ˈnɒvəl /

noun

1. Roman law a new decree or an amendment to an existing statute See also Novels

novel

1. A long, fictional narration in prose. Great Expectationsand Huckleberry Finnare novels, as are War and Peaceand Lord of the Flies.

Other Words From

• novel·like adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of novel¹

First recorded in 1560–70; from Italian novella (storia) “new (story)”; novel ²

Origin of novel²

First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English, from Anglo-French, Middle French novel, from Old French novel, nouvel, from Latin novellus “fresh, young, novel,” diminutive of novus “new”; new

Origin of novel³

First recorded in 1605–15; from Late Latin novella (constitūtiō) “a new (regulation, order)”; novel ²

Word History and Origins

Origin of novel¹

C15: from Old French novelle, from Latin novella ( narrātiō ) new (story); see novel ²

Origin of novel²

C15: from Latin novellus new, diminutive of novus new

Synonym Study

See new.

Example Sentences

She gave him hundreds of thousands of dollars, and then, after her death, her Colcom Foundation, named after the bleak and satirical novel “Cold Comfort Farm,” continued to donate to Tanton’s organizations — more than $150 million.

From Salon

He published an English translation of “The Camp of the Saints,” a French novel written by Jean Raspail.

From Salon

In 2019, going by his byline of “Mike Ma,” he self-published a novel called “Harassment Architecture,” which glorifies those lone-wolf acts of terror, picking up on strains of Ted Kaczynski, the Unabomber, who expressed fears about the future “greenhouse effect” and disavowed modernity and its consumerist culture.

From Salon

Like a nonfiction novel, Keefe’s book traces five decades of thorny history from the perspective of real-life characters, including the notorious Price sisters, Marian and Dolours, I.R.A. militants whose prison hunger strikes made front-page news in the 1970s, and Gerry Adams, the political leader who helped bring peace to Northern Ireland but has been accused of participating in atrocities committed during the height of the conflict.

From Los Angeles Times

But that spacewalk can introduce something novel to the space station - the metallic “space smell”.

From BBC

Related Words

• fiction
• narrative
• novella
• paperback
• prose
• story
• tale
• yarn