definitions

novel

1
[ nov-uh l ]
/ ˈnɒv əl /
||
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noun

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

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RELATED WORDS

different, unusual, offbeat, strange, innovative, unique, odd, peculiar, story, yarn, fiction, tale, narrative, prose, paperback, novella, avant-garde, now, contemporary, singular

Nearby words

novara, novated lease, novation, novato, novaya zemlya, novel, novelese, novelette, novelettish, novelist, novelistic

Origin of novel

1
1560–70; < Italian novella (storia) new kind of story. See novel2

Related forms

nov·el·like, adjective

Definition for novel (2 of 3)

novel

2
[ nov-uh l ]
/ ˈnɒv əl /

adjective

of a new kind; different from anything seen or known before: a novel idea.

Origin of novel

2
1375–1425; late Middle English (< Middle French, Old French) < Latin novellus fresh, young, novel, diminutive of novus new

Definition for novel (3 of 3)

novel

3
[ nov-uh l ]
/ ˈnɒv əl /

noun

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.
Civil Law. an amendment to a statute.

Origin of novel

3
1605–15; < Late Latin novella (constitūtiō) a new (regulation, order). See novel2
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for novel

British Dictionary definitions for novel (1 of 3)

novel

1
/ (ˈnɒvəl) /

noun

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

Word Origin for novel

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

British Dictionary definitions for novel (2 of 3)

novel

2
/ (ˈnɒvəl) /

adjective

of a kind not seen before; fresh; new; originala novel suggestion

Word Origin for novel

C15: from Latin novellus new, diminutive of novus new

British Dictionary definitions for novel (3 of 3)

novel

3
/ (ˈnɒvəl) /

noun

Roman law a new decree or an amendment to an existing statuteSee also Novels
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Culture definitions for novel

novel

A long, fictional narration in prose. Great Expectations and Huckleberry Finn are novels, as are War and Peace and Lord of the Flies.

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.