novel

English

Wikipedia

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA: /ˈnɒvl̩/,enPR: nŏvʹəl, X-SAMPA: /"nQvl=/
• (US) enPR: nävʹəl, IPA: /ˈnɑvəl/, X-SAMPA: /"nAv@l/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɒvəl

Etymology 1

From Old French novel (“new, fresh, recent, recently made or done, strange, rare”) (modern nouvel), from Latin novellus (“new, fresh, young, modern”), diminutive of novus (“new”).

Adjective

novel (comparative more novel, superlative most novel)

1. new, original, especially in an interesting way

Usage notes

• Said of ideas, ways, etc.

Synonyms

• See also Wikisaurus:new

Translations

new, original, especially in an interesting way

• Chinese: 新穎, 新颖
• Czech: originální (cs), neotřelý (cs)
• Dutch: nieuw (nl)
• Finnish: uusi (fi), uudenlainen (fi)
• French: nouveau (fr) m, nouvelle (fr) f, original (fr) m, originale (fr) f
• German: neuartig (de), neu (de)
• Greek: πρωτότυπος (el) (protótypos) m 
• Hindi: नया (hi)
• Italian: nuovo (it), originale (it)
• Japanese: 新奇 (ja) (shinki)

• Latin: novellus (la) m
• Macedonian: нов (mk) (nov) m, несекојдневен (mk) (nesekójdneven)
• Polish: nowy (pl) m
• Portuguese: novo (pt) m, nova (pt) f, original (pt) c
• Romanian: nou (ro) m, original (ro) m, original (ro)
• Russian: новый (ru) (nóvyj) , оригинальный (ru) (originál'nyj) 
• Spanish: novedoso (es) m, novedosa (es) f
• Swahili: riwaya (sw)
• Telugu: వినూత్న (vinootna)

Etymology 2

In various senses from Old French novelle or Italian novella, both from Latin novella, a singular noun use of the neuter plural of novellus, from novus (“new”). Some senses came to English directly from the Latin.

This definition is lacking an etymology or has an incomplete etymology. You can help Wiktionary by giving it a proper etymology.

Noun

novel (plural novels)

1. (obsolete) A novelty; something new. [15th-18th c.]
2. (now historical) A fable; a short tale, especially one of many making up a larger work. [from 16th c.]
   • 1621, Robert Burton, The Anatomy of Melancholy, II.2.4:

     merry tales [...] such as the old woman told of Psyche in Apuleius, Boccace novels, and the rest, quarum auditione pueri delectantur, senes narratione, which some delight to hear, some to tell, all are well pleased with.

3. A work of prose fiction, longer than a short story. [from 17th c.]
4. (classical studies, historical) A new legal constitution in ancient Rome. [from 17th c.]

Derived terms

• novelisation, novelization
• novelist

Related terms

• novella

Translations

work of prose fiction

• Arabic: رواية (ar) (riwāya) f
• Catalan: novel·la (ca) f
• Chinese:

  Cantonese: 小說 (siu2 syut3)

  Mandarin: trad. 小說, simpl. 小说 (xiǎoshuō)

• Czech: román (cs) m
• Dutch: roman (nl) m
• Esperanto: romano (eo)
• Finnish: romaani (fi)
• French: roman (fr) m
• German: Roman (de) m
• Greek: μυθιστόρημα (el) (mythistórima) n 
• Hebrew: רומן (he) (román) m
• Hindi: कथा (hi) (kathā), कहानी (hi) (kahānī), उपन्यास (hi) (upanyās)
• Hungarian: regény (hu)
• Indonesian: novel (id)
• Italian: romanzo (it) m
• Japanese: 小説 (ja) (しょうせつ, shōsetsu)
• Khmer: នវប្រលោមលោក (km) (nak vak brolom lok)
• Korean: 소설 (ko) (soseol)

• Latin: novella (la) n pl, romanice (la)
• Macedonian: роман (mk) (róman) m
• Mongolian: роман (mn) (roman) 
• Persian: رمان (fa) (român)
• Polish: powieść (pl) f
• Portuguese: romance (pt) f
• Romanian: roman (ro) n
• Russian: (a rather large novel) роман (ru) (román) m , повесть (ru) (póvest') f , новелла (ru) (novélla) f 
• Scottish Gaelic: nobhail (gd) f
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: роман (sh) (roman) m

  Roman: roman (sh) m

• Slovene: roman (sl) m
• Spanish: novela (es) f
• Swahili: riwaya (sw)
• Swedish: roman (sv) c
• Telugu: నవల (te) (navala)
• Turkish: roman (tr)
• Urdu: ناول (ur) (novel)
• Vietnamese: tiểu thuyết (vi)
• Welsh: nofel (cy) f

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Old French

Etymology

Latin novellus.

Adjective

novel

1. new

Declension

  Declension of novel  

Number	Case	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter
Singular	Subject	novels	novele	novel
	Oblique	novel	novele	novel
Plural	Subject	novel	noveles	novel
	Oblique	novels	noveles	novel

Descendants

• English : novel
• French: nouveau

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Old Provençal

Adjective

novel m (feminine singular novela, masculine plural novels, feminine plural novelas)

1. new

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Spanish

Adjective

novel m and f (plural noveles)

1. novel, new