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roman-fleuve

American  
[raw-mahn-flœv] / rɔ mɑ̃ˈflœv /

noun

French.

plural

romans-fleuves

  1. saga.

roman-fleuve British  
/ rɔmɑ̃flœv /

noun

  1. a novel or series of novels dealing with a family or other group over several generations

"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

Etymology

Origin of roman-fleuve

literally: stream novel

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

I’ve a sneaking suspicion that Lee Child’s Reacher novels, with their affectless prose and numbed heroics, may end up being understood as a great, experimental roman-fleuve of our time.

From New York Times • Nov. 19, 2020

One of the pleasures of any roman-fleuve lies in keeping track of the pasts and permutations of vast numbers of characters.

From Time Magazine Archive

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.