▪ I. novel, n.
(ˈnɒvəl)
Forms: pl. 5 nouellys, 5–6 -ellis, 6–7 -elles (5 -eles), -ells, 5–7 nouels; 6 Sc. nowellis; 5–6 novellis (6 Sc. -allis), 6 -elles, 7 -ells, 5–8 novels; sing. 6–7 nouell, 7– novel.
[In senses 1 and 2, a. OF. novelle (-ele, nuvele, etc.; mod.F. nouvelle), = It. novella, fem.:—L. novella neut. plur. of novellus, f. novus new: see novel a. The original stress was on the second syllable. In sense 3, ultimately from It. novella, Sp. novela, whence also F. nouvelle. In sense 4, ad. late L. novella (sc. constitutio), usually in pl. novellæ.]
† 1. Something new; a novelty. Obs.
In early use always pl., and freq. implying sense 2.
| c 1460 Towneley Myst. xviii. 188 Whens euer this barne may be That shewys thise novels new? 1533 Bellenden Livy i. xix. (S.T.S.) I. 110 To be consultit with þame of certane novellis & haisty materis. 1579 Spenser Sheph. Cal. Feb. 95 To nought more..my mind is bent Then to heare nouells of his deuise. 1591 Sylvester Du Bartas i. ii. 233 Who loving novels, full of affectation, Receive the Manners of each other Nation. 1613 Heywood Braz. Age ii. ii, Do you wonder..To see this Prince lye dead? Why that's no nouell, All men must dye. 1695 Congreve Love for L. iii. iii, Perhaps I might..have introduc'd an Amour of my own, in Conversation, by way of Novel. 1703 T. N. City & C. Purchaser 57 Such Men will not..be..perswaded to a more compleat way..because it is a Novel to them. 1719 J. T. Phillipps tr. Thirty-four Confer. p. xvi, That..no ancient Indian Apostolical Monuments might remain in those Parts to reflect Reproach upon Romish Novels. |
| Comb. 1596 Lodge Wits Miserie 13 His name is Super⁓fluous Inuention, or as some tearme him Novel-monger or Fashions. |
† 2. a. pl. News, tidings.
Obs.| c 1475 Partenay 45 Erle amerye..thes nouels hurd at that entreual. 1561 J. Awdelay Frat. Vacab. (1869) 14 Ready to bring his Maister Nouels and tidinges, whether they be true or false. 1635 D. Person Varieties iv. i. §9 Saluting the Antipodes, and bringing novells from their Courts and of their caballs. 1688 in Ellis Orig. Lett. Ser. ii. IV. 115 An invention of them that love to feed the town with the Air of Novels. 1724 Wodrow Corr. (1843) III. 167 When you favour me with a line, I'll be glad to have your thoughts of it, with all your novels. |
† b. sing. A piece of news.
Obs.| 1610 Heywood Gold. Age iv. i, Discourse the nouell, Neptune. 1636 Massinger Gt. Dk. Florence i. ii, You..promise, in your clear aspect, some novel That may delight us. 1728 Fielding Love in Several Masques iv. iv, Wisemore. What novel's this? Malvil. Faith! it may be a pleasant one to you. 1736 Hervey Mem. Geo. II, I. 430 They must know very little of the nature of Courts..who flatter themselves that the disgrace of one person..would be anything more than the novel of a fortnight. |
3. a. (Chiefly in
pl.) One of the tales or short stories contained in such works as the
Decameron of Boccaccio, the
Heptameron of Marguerite of Valois, etc.; a short story of this type.
| 1566 Painter Pal. Pleas. Ded., In these histories (which by another terme I call Nouelles) he described the liues..of great princes. 1578 in Maitland Cl. Misc. I. (1840) 7 The first buik of the novallis of Ronsard. 1621 Burton Anat. Mel. iv. ii. ii. (1624) 230 Such as the old womene tolde Psyche in Apuleius, Bocace Nouells, and the rest. 1674 Evelyn Mem. (1857) III. 245 Marguerite of Valois..whose novels are equal to those of the witty Boccaccio. 1697 Dryden æneid Ded., Ess. (Ker) II. 155 The trifling novels, which Ariosto, and others, have inserted in their poems. 1700 ― Pref. Fables ibid. 248 Boccace..wrote novels in prose, and many works in verse. [1834 Motley Corr. (1889) I. iii. 35 Tieck's novels (which last are a set of exquisite little tales, novels in the original meaning of the word).] |
b. A fictitious prose narrative or tale of considerable length (now usually one long enough to fill one or more volumes), in which characters and actions representative of the real life of past or present times are portrayed in a plot of more or less complexity.
In 17–18th c.
freq. contrasted with a
romance, as being shorter than this, and having more relation to real life.
The older
pron. noˈvel was retained in
Sc. till the 19th c. (See
novelle, and
cf. Burns
Rob Mossgiel, ‘O leave novels, ye Mauchline belles.’)
| 1639 J. S. Clidamas pref. sign. A2 recto, Here I present you with this little Novel..which though in it selfe it be nothing, yet..may prove something. 1643 Milton Divorce i. vi. Wks. 1851 IV. 33 This is no mere amatorious novel. 1676 G. Etherege Man of Mode ii. i, Leave your raillery, and tell us, is there any New Wit come forth, Songs or Novels? 1693 Humours Town 24 She seats herself, with some Novel or Play, in a very solitary posture. 1711 Steele Spect. No. 254 ¶3, I am afraid thy Brains are a little disordered with Romances and Novels. 1769 Wesley Wks. (1872) III. 357 Sure no Novel in the world can be more affecting, or more surprising, than this history. 1774 Chesterfield's Lett. I. 130 A Novel is a kind of abbreviation of a Romance. 1806–7 Beresford Mis. Hum. Life (1826) ii. xxxi, A cargo of novels of their own choice with such titles as ‘Delicate Sensibility’. 1867 Trollope Chron. Barset I. xxxv. 311 [He] sat down over the fire with a volume of a novel. 1889 Cornh. Mag. Feb. 119 It's more like a novel than real life. |
c. The particular type of literature which is constituted or exemplified by this class of fiction. (Formerly without article; now with
the.)
| 1757 E. Griffith Lett. Henry & Frances (1767) I. p. iii, I never read higher love-letters in my life, without the bombast of romance, or the levity of novel. 1766 Fordyce Serm. to Yng. Wom. (1767) I. iv. 148 There seem to me..very few, in the style of Novel, that you can read with safety. 1859 Masson Brit. Novelists i. 2 The Novel, at its highest, is a prose Epic. 1871 Spectator 22 April 484 England has hardly received the honour she deserves as the birthplace of the modern novel. |
d. A fiction, story, invention.
rare—1.
| 1762 Foote Liar iii. Wks. 1799 I. 314 Your novels won't pass upon me. |
4. Roman Law. A new decree or constitution, supplementary to the Codex,
esp. one of those made by the Emperor Justinian. (
Cf. novell.)
| 1612 Brerewood Lang. & Relig. xv. 154 As appeareth in the novel of Leo Sophus, touching the order and precedence of metropolitans. 1672–5 T. Comber Comp. Temple (1702) 223 The Codes and Novels of Justinian, Theodosius, and other Emperors in the East. 1715 Bingham Orig. Eccles. IV. 275 The Edict which that Council refers to, was another Novel of Justinian's. 1788 Gibbon Decl. & F. xliv. IV. 366 The nine collations, the legal standard of modern tribunals, consist of ninety-eight Novels. 1818 Hallam Mid. Ages (1872) II. 149 By a novel of Valentinian III about 450. 1871 Bryce Holy Rom. Emp. xv. (ed. 3) 248 Edicts issued by a Franconian or Swabian sovereign were inserted as Novels in the Corpus Juris, in the latest editions of which custom still allows them a place. |
| transf. 1695 J. Edwards Perfect. Script. 415 The sacred books of the New Testament, the Evangelical Novels, the new laws. 1885 tr. Wellhansen's Proleg. Hist. of Israel v. i. 159 A novel of the law (Exod. xxx. 15) raised it to half a shekel. |
5. attrib. and
Comb. (sense 3).
a. in various uses.
| 1757 E. Griffith Lett. Henry & Frances (1767) I. 174 note, This was her *Novel application [Ethelinda]. |
| 1797 Colman Br. Grins, Nightgown & Slippers xviii, Stomacks are so cloyed with *novel-feeding. |
| 1883 19th Cent. Feb. 288 They prefer penny fiction serials to being *novel-less. |
| 1788 Burke Sp. agst. W. Hastings Wks. XIII. 30 The false, idle, girlish, *novel-like morality of the world.. |
| 1797 Mrs. Robinson Walsingham III. 230 It was fresh from a modern *novel-mill, and strongly recommended by the reviewers. |
| 1886 Willis & Clark Cambridge III. 121 The Newspaper Room, the Music Room, and the *Novel Room. |
| 1806 Cumberland Mem. (1807) II. 256, I had no books but such as a circulating *novel-shop provided. |
| 1801 T. S. Surr Splendid Misery I. 79 She blushed at the exposure of her *novel-sick passion. |
| 1768–74 Tucker Lt. Nat. (1834) I. 596 The new⁓loosened school-boy and *novel-studied girl. |
b. Objective and
obj. genitive.
| 1903 A. Bennett Truth about Author xii. 150, I was almost bound to pander to the vulgar taste..in my short stories, but I had sworn solemnly that I would keep the *novel-form unsullied. 1967 A. Burgess Novel Now ii. 27 In The Waves, whose poetic prose now reads very awkwardly, we seem to get as far away from the novel-form as possible. |
| 1838 J. S. Mill in Westm. Rev. XXVIII. 439 He..fulfils with propriety the essential functions of a *novel⁓hero. |
| 1768–74 Tucker Lt. Nat. (1834) II. 612 Our *novel-hunters learn to despise all common prudence. |
| a 1810 Tannahill Poems (1846) 60 In these *novel-huntin' days, There's nane but bairns can act our plays. |
| 1948 F. R. Leavis Great Tradition iii. 138 He wrote..other ‘American’ classics. Not to speak of short-stories and things of less than *novel-length. 1972 E. Routley Puritan Pleasures of Detective Story vi. 72 [Austin] Freeman..was not stylist enough to sustain the technique through a story of full novel-length. |
| 1866 Cornh. Mag. Jan. 13 There is little in either of these scenes..which the ordinary *novel-maker could ‘seize’. |
| 1850 Kingsley Alt. Locke vii, Quickened into prurient activity by the low, *novel-mongering press. |
| 1841 Thackeray Men & Pictures Wks. 1900 XIII. 377 A couple of instances from ‘actual life’, as the fashionable *novel-puffers say. |
| 1775 Bp. Watson Anecd. (1817) 51, I hate the flimsy womanish eloquence of *novel readers. 1894 Raleigh Eng. Novel ix. (1903) 256 Novelists have generally been insatiable novel-readers. 1921 P. Lubbock Craft of Fiction (1926) iii. 41 There is nothing more familiar to a novel-reader of today than the difficulty of discovering what the novel in his hand is about. |
| 1789 A. Seward Let. 17 Aug. (1811) II. 319 The contemptible rage for *novel-reading, is a pernicious and deplorably prevalent taste. 1802 E. Parsons Myst. Visit II. 172 Very unlike a novel⁓reading Miss. ? c 1810 New Comic Songster 20 She learnt it from novel reading, O. 1870 Emerson Soc. & Sol. viii. 172 So much novel reading cannot leave the young men and maidens untouched. |
| 1947 ‘G. Orwell’ in Tribune 31 Jan. 8/1 Raymond Postgate, who was then editor, had asked me to do the *novel reviews from time to time. |
| 1951 Observer 8 Apr. 7/4 *Novel-reviewers receive letters from readers asking why the books we choose to notice are all..‘sad, bad and mad’. |
| 1893 E. Dowson Let. c 20 Sept. (1967) 292 The opinion of the average *novel-reviewing Le Gallienish animal. |
| 1862 Thackeray Round. Papers, De Finibus, Of all the *novel-spinners now extant. |
| 1833 Macaulay in Trevelyan Life (1876) I. 303 Have I nothing to do but to be your *novel-taster. |
| 1832 Carlyle Misc. (1857) III. 39 The distressed *Novelwright. 1873 W. S. Mayo Never Again xvii. 222 The chapter is the crowning mercy of novel-wrights. 1728 *Novel-writer [see novelist 4]. 1814 Scott Wav. Pref. to ed. 3, A man..to whom the reputation of being a novel⁓writer might be prejudicial. 1883 W. Black Shandon Bells xxxii, You would have me allow..novel-writers to review other people's novels. |
| 1818 Lady Morgan Autobiogr. (1859) 44 He [Monk Lewis] was the founder of the dramatic school of *novel-writing. |
| 1856 De Quincey Confess. Wks. 1859 I. 216 note, The deluge of novel-writing talent..which has overflowed our literature. |
▪ II. novel, a. (
ˈnɒvəl)
Also 5–6
nouel, 5–7
-ell, 7
novell.
[a. OF. novel (mod.F. nouvel, nouveau), = Sp. and Pg. novel, It. novello:—L. novell-um, f. nov-um new: cf. prec. Not in common use till after 1600. See also novile a.] 1. † a. New, young, fresh.
Obs. rare.
| c 1420 Pallad. on Husb. i. 209 A novel vyne vp gooth by diligence As fast as hit gooth doun by negligence. 1616 Chapman Homer's Hymn Hermes 60 He strait assumed a novell voices note. |
† b. Newly made or created.
Obs.| c 1475 Partenay 694 The writyng sealled ful truly With the gret seal of thys Erle nouel. Ibid. 5397 For men had hym told off this strenght nouell. c 1650 Don Bellianis 22 One in a white armor like a novel knight. |
† c. Newly acquired.
Obs. rare—1.
| 1586 Marlowe 1st Pt. Tamburl. ii. v, Then shall we send to this triumphing King, And bid him battle for his novel crown? |
† d. Recent; of recent origin.
Obs. novel disseisin: see
disseisin 1 b.
| 1641 ‘Smectymnuus’ Answ. (1653) 19 A Bishop..is but a Novell invention. a 1676 Hale Prim. Orig. Man. (1677) 163 But this seems to be but a novel Conceit. a 1727 Newton Chronol. Amended ii. (1728) 222 They..boast their antiquity, not knowing that they are novel, and lived not above eleven hundred years ago. |
2. New; of a new kind or nature; strange; hitherto unknown.
| c 1475 Partenay 2696, I thorughly know all thes nouell tidinges Full good and fair ben vnto vs. 1567 Drant Horace, Ep. i. ii. G iij, If nouel woorkes had bene of greekes accompted of so could,..where now had bene these workes, which we call oulde? 1615 Crooke Body of Man 321 Let himselfe see how farre this nouell speculation of his hath transported him. 1651 Baxter Inf. Bapt. 345 My present purpose is..to manifest the concent of the learned to most that seemeth novel and singular. 1718 Hickes & Nelson J. Kettlewell ii. xxxiv. 140 The Novel Fancies and Inventions of our Modern Humorists in Religion. 1782 Priestley Corrupt. Chr. II. vi. 38 This opinion..was bold and novel. 1832 R. & J. Lander Exped. Niger III. xix. 162 It was something quite novel to see two large parties of people bartering commodities in this manner. 1870 L'Estrange Life Miss Mitford I. vi. 169 A style of decoration more novel than elegant. |
† b. novel assignment (see
quots.).
Obs.| 1607 Cowell Interpr., Novel assignement, is an assignement of time, Place, or such like, otherwise then as before it was assigned. 1696 Phillips, Novel assignment, is where a Man brings Trespass for breaking his Close, and the Defendant justifies in a Place where no Trespass was done; but the Plaintiff assigns the Place where the Trespass was done. 1727–38 Chambers Cycl., Novel assignment, in an action of trespass, is an assignment of time, place, or the like, in a declaration, otherwise or more particularly than it was in the writ. |
c. novel constitution,
= novel n. 4.
| 1726 Ayliffe Parergon 135 By the Novel Constitutions, Burial may not be inhibited, or deny'd to any one. |