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nov·el¹

(nŏvəl)

1. A fictional prose narrative of considerable length, typically having a plot that is unfolded by the actions, speech, and thoughts of the characters.

2. The literary genre represented by novels.

[Ultimately from Old Italian novella, piece of news, chit-chat, tale, novella, from Vulgar Latin *novella, from neuter pl. of Latin novellus, diminutive of novus, new; see newo- in the Appendix of Indo-European roots.]

nov·el²

(nŏvəl)

adj.

Strikingly new, unusual, or different. See Synonyms at new.

[Middle English, from Old French, from Latin novellus, diminutive of novus; see newo- in the Appendix of Indo-European roots.]

novel·ly adv.

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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