novena

English

Etymology

From Ecclesiastical Latin novēna, from Latin novēnus (“nine [each]”).

Noun

novena (plural novenas or novenae)

1. (Roman Catholicism) A recitation of prayers and devotions for nine consecutive days, especially one to a saint to ask for their intercession.
   • 1886, Gustave Flaubert, chapter VI, in Eleanor Marx-Aveling, transl., Madame Bovary: Provincial Manners […], London: Vizetelly & Co., […], →OCLC, part I, page 42:

     The good nuns, who had been so sure of her vocation, perceived with great astonishment that Mademoiselle Rouault seemed to be slipping from them. They had indeed been so lavish to her of prayers, retreats, novenas, and sermons, they had so often preached the respect due to saints and martyrs, and given so much good advice as to the modesty of the body and the salvation of her soul, that she did as tightly reined horses; she pulled up short and the bit slipped from her teeth.

Translations

a recitation of prayers for nine days

• Basque: bederatziurren
• Catalan: novena (ca) f
• Dutch: noveen (nl) f, novene (nl) f
• French: neuvaine (fr) f
• Galician: novena (gl) f
• German: Novene (de) f
• Indonesian: novena (id)
• Italian: novena (it) f
• Japanese: ノベナ, ^{(please verify)} 連続 9 日間の祈り
• Latin: novēna (la) f
• Lithuanian: devýndienis m, novenà (lt) f
• Manx: padjer nuy laa f
• Polish: nowenna (pl) f
• Portuguese: novena (pt) f
• Spanish: novena (es) f
• Tagalog: pagsisiyam, nobena

Asturian

Adjective

novena

1. feminine singular of novenu

Catalan

Etymology

From Latin novēnus (“nine”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Central) [nuˈβɛ.nə]
• IPA^(key): (Balearic) [noˈvə.nə]
• IPA^(key): (Valencia) [noˈve.na]

Adjective

novena

1. feminine singular of novè

Noun

la novena major

la novena menor

novena f (plural novenes)

1. (music) ninth
2. (Roman Catholicism) novena

Derived terms

• novena major (“major ninth”)
• novena menor (“minor ninth”)

Galician

Noun

novena f (plural novenas)

1. (Roman Catholicism) novena

Adjective

novena

1. feminine singular of noveno

Indonesian

Etymology

Borrowed from Ecclesiastical Latin novēna, from Latin novēnus (“nine [each]”).

Pronunciation

• (Standard Indonesian) IPA^(key): /noˈvena/ [noˈfe.na]
• Rhymes: -ena
• Syllabification: no‧ve‧na

Noun

novena (plural novena-novena)

1. (Catholicism) novena

Further reading

• “novena”, in Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia [Great Dictionary of the Indonesian Language] (in Indonesian), Jakarta: Agency for Language Development and Cultivation – Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology of the Republic of Indonesia, 2016

Italian

Noun

novena f (plural novene)

1. (Roman Catholicism) novena

Related terms

• nove

Anagrams

• Navone, navone

Latin

Noun

novēna f (genitive novēnae); first declension

1. (Ecclesiastical Latin) novena (recitation of prayers for nine days)

Declension

First-declension noun.

	singular	plural
nominative	novēna	novēnae
genitive	novēnae	novēnārum
dative	novēnae	novēnīs
accusative	novēnam	novēnās
ablative	novēnā	novēnīs
vocative	novēna	novēnae

Numeral

novēna

1. inflection of novēnus:
   1. nominative/vocative/ablative feminine singular
   2. nominative/accusative/vocative neuter plural

Numeral

novēnā

1. ablative feminine singular of novēnus

References

• "novena", in Charles du Fresne du Cange, Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition with additions by D. P. Carpenterius, Adelungius and others, edited by Léopold Favre, 1883–1887)

Portuguese

Etymology

Learned borrowing from Latin novēna. By surface analysis, nove (“nine”) +‎ -ena.

Pronunciation

 

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /noˈvẽ.nɐ/

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /noˈvẽ.nɐ/
  • (Southern Brazil) IPA^(key): /noˈve.na/

 

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /nuˈve.nɐ/

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /nuˈve.nɐ/
  • (Northern Portugal) IPA^(key): /nuˈbe.nɐ/ [nuˈβe.nɐ]

• Hyphenation: no‧ve‧na

Noun

novena f (plural novenas)

1. a period of nine days
2. a set of nine things
3. (Roman Catholicism) novena (a recitation of prayers for nine days)

Adjective

novena

1. feminine singular of noveno

Further reading

• “novena”, in Dicionário Aulete Digital (in Portuguese), Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon Editora Digital, 2008–2026
• “novena”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2026

Spanish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /noˈbena/ [noˈβ̞e.na]
• Rhymes: -ena
• Syllabification: no‧ve‧na

Noun

novena f (plural novenas)

1. (Roman Catholicism) novena

Adjective

novena

1. feminine singular of noveno

Further reading

• “noveno”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025