novel

英文詞源

novel

novel: English has acquired the word novel in several distinct instalments. First to arrive was the adjective, ‘new’ [15], which came via Old French from Latin novellus, a derivative of novus ‘new’ (to which English new is distantly related). (The Old French derived noun novelte had already reached English as novelty [14].) Next on the scene was a now obsolete noun novel ‘new thing, novelty’ [15], which went back to Latin novella, a noun use of the neuter plural of novellus.

In Italian, novellus became novello, and this was used in storia novella, literally ‘new story’, a term which denoted ‘short story’. English adopted this as a third novel [16], at first referring specifically to Italian short stories of the type written by Boccaccio, but by the mid- 17th century being extended to a longer ‘prose narrative’ (the original Italian novella was reborrowed in the early 20th century for a ‘short novel’).

English is also indebted to Latin novus for nova [19] (etymologically a ‘new star’) and novice [14].

novel (adj.)

"new, strange, unusual," early 15c., but little used before 1600, from Old French novel, nouvel "new, young, fresh, recent; additional; early, soon" (Modern French nouveau, fem. nouvelle), from Latin novellus "new, young, recent," diminutive of novus "new" (see new).

novel (n.)

"fictitious narrative," 1560s, from Italian novella "short story," originally "new story," from Latin novella "new things" (source of Middle French novelle, French nouvelle), neuter plural or fem. of novellus (see novel (adj.)). Originally "one of the tales or short stories in a collection" (especially Boccaccio's), later (1630s) "long work of fiction," works which had before that been called romances.

A novel is like a violin bow; the box which gives off the sounds is the soul of the reader. [Stendhal, "Life of Henri Brulard"]