nov·el

1 [nov-uhl]
noun
1.
a fictitious prose narrative of considerable length and complexity, portraying characters and usually presenting a sequential organization of action and scenes.
2.
(formerly) novella ( def 1 ).

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

nov·el·like, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged

nov·el

2 [nov-uhl]
adjective
of a new kind; different from anything seen or known before: a novel idea.

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


See new.
00:10
Novel is always a great word to know.
So is flibbertigibbet. Does it mean:
a calculus or concretion found in the stomach or intestines of certain animals, esp. ruminants, formerly reputed to be an effective remedy for poison.
a chattering or flighty, light-headed person.

nov·el

3 [nov-uhl]
noun
1.
Roman Law.
a.
an imperial enactment subsequent and supplementary to an imperial compilation and codification of authoritative legal materials.
b.
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.
2.
Civil Law. an amendment to a statute.

Origin:
1605–15; < Late Latin novella (constitūtiō) a new (regulation, order). See novel2

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Collins
World English Dictionary
novel1 (ˈnɒvəl) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
n
1.  an extended work in prose, either fictitious or partly so, dealing with character, action, thought, etc, esp in the form of a story
2.  the novel the literary genre represented by novels
3.  obsolete (usually plural) a short story or novella, as one of those in the Decameron of Boccaccio
 
[C15: from Old French novelle, from Latin novella (narrātiō) new (story); see novel²]

novel2 (ˈnɒvəl) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
adj
of a kind not seen before; fresh; new; original: a novel suggestion
 
[C15: from Latin novellus new, diminutive of novus new]

novel3 (ˈnɒvəl) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
n
Roman law See also Novels a new decree or an amendment to an existing statute

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

novel
"new, strange, unusual," c.1420, but little used before 1600, from M.Fr. novel "new, fresh, recent" (Fr. nouveau, fem. nouvelle), from O.Fr., from L. novellus "new, young, recent," dim. of novus "new" (see new).

novel
"fictitious narrative," 1566, from It. novella "short story," originally "new story," from L. novella "new things" (cf. M.Fr. novelle, Fr. nouvelle), neut. pl. or fem. of novellus (see novel (adj.)). Originally "one of the tales or short stories in a collection" (esp. Boccaccio),
later (1643) "long work of fiction," works which had before that been called romances.
"A novel is like a violin bow; the box which gives off the sounds is the soul of the reader." [Stendhal, "Life of Henri Brulard"]
Novelist "writer of novels" is 1728, infl. by It. novellista.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage
Cultural Dictionary

novel definition


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

The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Example sentences
Everybody must have discerned in the action of his mind two diverging
  tendencies, which in this novel, are harmonized.
Novel chemicals may help teach dogs to sniff out corpses, drugs, and bombs.
We might not be able to answer questions with novel and unexpected results, but
  we'll proliferate the questions.
Instead he is excited by a novel fusion scheme, one that he believes will be a
  clean, cheap source of power.
Image for novel
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