Online Language Dictionaries

UK: * UK and possibly other pronunciations UK and possibly other pronunciations /ˈnɒv ə l/ US: USA pronunciation: IPA and respelling USA pronunciation: IPA /ˈnɑvəl/ , USA pronunciation: respelling (nov′əl)

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2024

1. Literature a long written story, usually fairly complicated, about characters and events that have been invented by the writer.

1. of a new kind;
   different from anything seen or known before: novel solutions to old problems.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2024

1. Literature a fictitious prose narrative of considerable length and complexity, portraying characters and usually presenting a sequential organization of action and scenes.
2. Literature (formerly) novella (def. 1).

• Italian novella (storia) new kind of story. See novel 2
• 1560–70

nov′el•like′, adj.

1. of a new kind;
   different from anything seen or known before: a novel idea.

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

See new.

1. Law [ Roman Law. ]
   • an imperial enactment subsequent and supplementary to an imperial compilation and codification of authoritative legal materials.
   • 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. Law [ Civil Law. ] an amendment to a statute.

• Late Latin novella (constitūtiō) a new (regulation, order). See novel 2
• 1605–15

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

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

1. of a kind not seen before; fresh; new; original

'novel' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):