nova
UK /ˈnəʊ.və/ · US /ˈnoʊ.və/ noun, proper noun
Forms novae novas novums
- noun (astronomy) Any sudden brightening of a previously inconspicuous star.
- proper noun A female given name from Latin.
- noun (uncountable) Smoked Nova Scotia salmon.
Etymology
Feminine nominative singular of Latin novus (“new”). The feminine is used since stella (“star”) is feminine; thus nova is a shortening of nova stella (“new star”), first used in this sense in 1573 by Tycho Brahe.
Blend of novum + Latin -a. From the Latin -a suffix used as the plural suffix form for singular words ending with -um (an inflection of -us).
From Latin nova (“new”).
Clipping of Nova Scotia.
Webster’s 1913
- noun A new star, usually appearing suddenly, shining for a brief period, and then sinking into obscurity. Such appearances are supposed to result from cosmic collisions, as of a dark star with interstellar nebulosities. The most important modern novæ are: -- No"va Co*ro"næ Bo`re*a"lis [1866]; No"va Cyg"ni [1876]; No"va An*dro"me*dæ [1885]; No"va Au*ri"gæ [1891-92]; No"va Per"se*i [1901].
Sources: Wiktionary · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “nova”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details