nov·el /ˈnɑvəl/
 小說,長篇故事(a.)新奇的,異常的


 Nov·el, n.
 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, longer than a short story, having some degree of complexity and development of characters; it is usually organized as a time sequence of events, and is commonly intended to exhibit the operation of the passions, and often of love.
 4.  Law A new or supplemental constitution. See the Note under Novel, a.

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 Nov·el a.  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.


 novel
      adj 1: of a kind not seen before; "the computer produced a
             completely novel proof of a well-known theorem" [syn:
             fresh, new]
      2: pleasantly novel or different; "common sense of a most
         refreshing sort" [syn: refreshing]
      n 1: a 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"