novella

[noh-vel-uh]

See more synonyms for novella on Thesaurus.com

noun, plural no·vel·las, no·vel·le

[noh-vel-ee, -vel-ey] /noʊˈvɛl i, -ˈvɛl eɪ/.

a tale or short story of the type contained in the Decameron of Boccaccio.
a fictional prose narrative that is longer and more complex than a short story; a short novel.

Origin of novella

From Italian, dating back to 1900–05; see origin at novel¹

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for novella

Contemporary Examples

And in some ways [the novella at the end of the collection] “Jack and the Mad Dog” just sort of set me free.
Tony Earley's Imaginary Friends
Mindy Farabee
September 2, 2014
I see my novella as being part of that—as part of the social discourse.
The Surprisingly Good Flight 370 Novel: Author Scott Maka Defends His Controversial Book
Tim Teeman
June 14, 2014
I tried to make that clear in the author's note at the start of the novella, but it seems that I was not emphatic enough.
The Surprisingly Good Flight 370 Novel: Author Scott Maka Defends His Controversial Book
Tim Teeman
June 14, 2014
The surprise is that the 127-page novella is far from terrible and creepy.
The Surprisingly Good Flight 370 Novel: Author Scott Maka Defends His Controversial Book
Tim Teeman
June 14, 2014
Three years later, I returned to Beijing and wrote my first novella—Stick Out Your Tongue, inspired by my travels through Tibet.
Ma Jian: How I Write
Noah Charney
June 12, 2013

Historical Examples

Perhaps he was going to perish here, without seeing the Novella again.
Very Woman
Remy de Gourmont
The Novella stooped towards the prisoner and touched his face with her lips.
Very Woman
Remy de Gourmont
In both cases the difference of the novella is in the motive, or the origination.
Literature and Life
William Dean Howells
The novelette can have almost as perfect form as the novella.
Literature and Life
William Dean Howells
In other words the novella was actually (though still in miniature) a novel in nature as well as in name.
The English Novel
George Saintsbury

British Dictionary definitions for novella

novella

noun plural -las or -le (-leɪ)

(formerly) a short narrative tale, esp a popular story having a moral or satirical point, such as those in Boccaccio's Decameron
a short novel; novelette

Word Origin

C20: from Italian; see novel 1

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

Word Origin and History for novella

1902; see novel (n.).

novella

Origin of .css-1fxfie5{font-size:22px;}@media (max-width:768px){.css-1fxfie5{font-size:18px;margin:0 10px 10px 0;word-break:break-all;word-wrap:break-word;-webkit-hyphens:auto;-moz-hyphens:auto;-ms-hyphens:auto;hyphens:auto;line-height:22px;}}novella

Examples from the Web for novella

Contemporary Examples

And in some ways [the novella at the end of the collection] “Jack and the Mad Dog” just sort of set me free.

I see my novella as being part of that—as part of the social discourse.

I tried to make that clear in the author's note at the start of the novella, but it seems that I was not emphatic enough.

The surprise is that the 127-page novella is far from terrible and creepy.

Three years later, I returned to Beijing and wrote my first novella—Stick Out Your Tongue, inspired by my travels through Tibet.

Historical Examples

Perhaps he was going to perish here, without seeing the Novella again.

The Novella stooped towards the prisoner and touched his face with her lips.

In both cases the difference of the novella is in the motive, or the origination.

The novelette can have almost as perfect form as the novella.

In other words the novella was actually (though still in miniature) a novel in nature as well as in name.

novella

Word Origin

Word Origin and History for novella

Origin of novella