Adjacent Words

Novel definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

NOV'EL, a.
1. New; of recent origin or intorduction; not ancient; hence, unusual; as a novel heresy; novel opinions. The proceedings of the court were novel.
2. In the civil law, the novel consititutions are those which are supplemental to the code, and posterior in time to the other books. These contained new decrees of successive emperors.
3. In the common law, the assize of novel disseizin is an action in which the demandant recits a complaint of the disseizin in terms of direct averment, whereupon the sheriff is commanded to reseize the land and chattels thereon, and keep the same in custody till the arrival of the justices of assize.
NOV'EL, n.
1. A new or supplemental constitution or decree. [See the Adjective.]
2. A fictitious tale or narrative in prose, intended to exhibit the operation of the passions, and particularly of love.
The coxcomb's novel and the drunkard's toast.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

adj
1: original and of a kind not seen before; "the computer produced a completely novel proof of a well-known theorem" [syn: fresh, new, novel]
2: pleasantly new or different; "common sense of a most refreshing sort" [syn: novel, refreshing] n
1: an extended fictional work in prose; usually in the form of a story
2: 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"

Merriam Webster's

I. adjective Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French, new, from Latin novellus, from diminutive of novus new — more at new Date: 15th century 1. new and not resembling something formerly known or used 2. original or striking especially in conception or style <a novel scheme to collect money> Synonyms: see new II. noun Etymology: Italian novella Date: 1639 1. an invented prose narrative that is usually long and complex and deals especially with human experience through a usually connected sequence of events 2. the literary genre consisting of novels • novelistic adjective • novelistically adverb

Britannica Concise

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, incl. picaresque, epistolary, gothic, romantic, realist, and historical novels. Though forerunners of the novel appeared in a number of places, incl. classical Rome, the European novel is usually said to have begun with M. de Cervantes's Don Quixote. The novel was established as a literary form in England in the 18th cent. through the work of D. Defoe, S. Richardson, and H. Fielding. The novel has remained popular because of its capacity for providing a faithful image of everyday reality. In the 20th cent., writers seeking to capture elusive qualities of experience stretched the limits of the conventional novel, a process that perhaps culminated in the antinovel.

Oxford Reference Dictionary

1. n. 1 a fictitious prose story of book length. 2 (prec. by the) this type of literature. Etymology: It. novella (storia story) fem. of novello new f. L novellus f. novus 2. adj. of a new kind or nature; strange; previously unknown. Derivatives: novelly adv. Etymology: ME f. OF f. L novellus f. novus new

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

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. Syn: New; recent; modern; fresh; strange; uncommon; rare; unusual. Usage: Novel, New . Everything at its first occurrence is new; that is novel which is so much out of the ordinary course as to strike us with surprise. That is a new sight which is beheld for the first time; that is a novel sight which either was never seen before or is seen but seldom. We have daily new inventions, but a novel one supposes some very peculiar means of attaining its end. Novel theories are regarded with distrust, as likely to prove more ingenious than sound.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Novel Nov"el, n. [F. nouvelle. See Novel, a.] 1. That which is new or unusual; a novelty. 2. pl. News; fresh tidings. [Obs.] Some came of curiosity to hear some novels. --Latimer. 3. 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. --Dryden. 4. [L. novellae (sc. constitutiones): cf. F. novelles.] (Law) A new or supplemental constitution. See the Note under Novel, a.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(novels) Frequency: The word is one of the 1500 most common words in English. 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. N-COUNT 2. 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. ADJ

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

I. a. New, strange, unusual, modern, recent, fresh, uncommon, rare. II. n. Tale, romance, story, fiction, fictitious narrative.

Foolish Dictionary

A fabric that is often (k)nit in print, though the yarn be well spun.

Moby Thesaurus

Bildungsroman, Gothic novel, authentic, avant-garde, bauble, best seller, bibelot, blockbuster, book, bound book, classic, coloring book, comic novel, creative, curio, definitive work, detective novel, different, dime novel, dreadful, epistolary novel, erotic novel, firsthand, folio, fresh, gewgaw, gimcrack, great work, hardback, historical novel, imaginative, juvenile, juvenile book, limp-cover book, magnum opus, modern, modernistic, narrative, neoteric, new, new-fashioned, newfangled, nonbook, notebook, nouvelle, novel of character, novel of ideas, novel of incident, novel of manners, novel of sensibility, novelette, novella, odd, opus, opuscule, opusculum, original, paperback, peculiar, penny dreadful, picaresque novel, picture book, playbook, pocket book, pornographic novel, prayer book, problem novel, production, proletarian novel, propaganda novel, psalmbook, psalter, psychological novel, publication, recent, regional novel, revolutionary, river novel, roman, roman a clef, roman-fleuve, romance, satirical novel, science-fiction novel, sentimental novel, serial, shilling shocker, short story, short-short, singular, sketchbook, sociological novel, soft-cover, songbook, special, standard work, storiette, story, storybook, strange, stream-of-consciousness novel, tale, thesis novel, title, tome, trade book, trifle, trinket, uncommon, unconventional, underived, unfamiliar, unheard-of, unique, untested, untried, unusual, vignette, volume, whatnot, work, writing