Etymology : Middle English, from Middle French, new, from Latin novellus, from diminutive of novus new; more at NEW
Pronunciation : nä-v&l
Function : adjective
Date : 15th century
1. piece of long fiction with a plot and characters; story. new; strange. novel\nov"el\, n. [f. nouvelle. see:
novel, a.].
2. that which is new or unusual; a novelty.
3. pl. news; fresh tidings. [obs.] some came of curiosity to hear some novels.
4. a fictitious tale or narrative, professing to be conformed to real life; esp., one intended to exhibit the operation of the passions, and particularly of love.
5. [l. novellae (sc. constitutiones): cf. f. novelles.] (law) a new or supplemental constitution. see:
the note under novel, a.novel \nov"el\ , a. [of. novel, nuvel, f. nouvel, nouveau, l. novellus, dim. of novus new. see:
new.] of recent origin or introduction; not ancient; new; hence, out of the ordinary course; unusual; strange; surprising.note: in civil law, the novel or new constitutions are those which are supplemental to the code, and posterior in time to the other books. these contained new decrees of successive emperors.novel assignment (law), a new assignment or specification of a suit.
6. Of recent origin or introduction; not ancient; new; hence, out of the ordinary course; unusual; strange; surprising.
7. That which is new or unusual; a novelty.
8. News; fresh tidings.
9. A fictitious tale or narrative, professing to be conformed to real life; esp., one intended to exhibit the operation of the passions, and particularly of love.
10. A new or supplemental constitution.
11. See the Note under Novel, a. a printed and bound book that is an extended work of fiction; "his bookcases were filled with nothing but novels"; "he burned all the novels" a extended fictional work in prose; usually in the form of a story pleasantly novel or different; "common sense of a most refreshing sort".
12. 1. A novel is a long written story about imaginary people and events. a novel by Herman Hesse historical novels set in the time of the Pharaohs.
13. Novel things are new and different from anything that has been done, experienced, or made before. Protesters found a novel way of demonstrating against steeply rising oil prices The very idea of a sixth form college was novel in 1962. a long written story in which the characters and events are usually imaginary fiction (novella; NOVELLA). not like anything known before, and unusual or interesting novel idea/approach/method etc. Fictional prose narrative of considerable length and some complexity that deals imaginatively with human experience through a connected sequence of events involving a group of persons in a specific setting. The genre encompasses a wide range of types and styles, including picaresque, epistolary, gothic, romantic, realist, and historical novels. Though forerunners of the novel appeared in a number of places, including Classical Rome and 11th-century Japan, the European novel is usually said to have begun with Miguel de Cervantes's Don Quixote. The novel was established as a literary form in England in the 18th century through the work of Daniel Defoe, Samuel Richardson, and Henry Fielding. The typical elements of a conventional novel are plot, character, setting, narrative method and point of view, scope, and myth or symbolism. These elements have been subject to experimentation since the earliest appearance of the novel. Compare antinovel. See also novella; short story. novel of character development epistolary novel gothic novel picaresque novel novel with a key.