Webster
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Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary · 1913

Novel

Nov′el (nŏv′el; 92), 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.

☞ 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. — 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.

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.

Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Noah Porter, editor (Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913). Public domain. Text as transcribed by MICRA, Inc., from Project Gutenberg. Changed for Deep Dive Bible: Greek, which our source spelled in Latin letters, set in Greek letters; entries of one spelling merged into one article; Greek words our source left out (shown as “?”), read from the 1898 printing, from the same plates (the Library of Congress’s copy), where the place could be found with certainty. Of the others, 1,362 (a word or a single letter each) were inferred by AI from the context by the dictionary’s own rules and are marked with a wavy underline (tap or point at one to see the note); the rest, which could not be inferred with confidence, are left as “?”.