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nouvelle

Etymology and origin of the French word nouvelle

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nouvelle1 news

Confidence
Established
Formation
Inherited
First attested
c. 1050, Vie de saint Alexis (nuveles)
Inherited from
Latin *novella via Old French
Ultimate origin
Latin (novus)

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /nu.vɛl/[1]

Forms

nouvelle f (plural nouvelles)[1] Old French nuvele and novele.[2][3]

Etymology

The word for news is inherited from Old French novele, inherited from Vulgar Latin *novella, the neuter plural of Latin novellus (“new, young”) taken as a feminine singular noun.[4][2][5] In Late Latin “novella” meant a young shoot, newly cleared land (about 745) and an announcement.[2] “Novellus” is a diminutive of novus (“new”), the source of neuf.[6][7] It is the feminine of nouveau used as a noun.[8]

Cognate with Italian novella and Old Occitan novella.[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

In the Vie de saint Alexis (about 1050) the plural means news of a person: Jo atendeie de te bones nuveles, Mais or les vei si dures e si pesmes ! (“I was waiting for good news of you, but now I see it so hard and so grievous!”).[4][2]

Semantic evolution

The singular, the report of a recent event, appears in the Voyage of Saint Brendan (early 12th century), and the plural in Wace (1155).[4] Bonnes nouvelles became the preaching of the Gospel (1535), and la Bonne Nouvelle the Gospel itself (about 1850).[2] Phrases include vous m'en direz des nouvelles (late 16th century), vous aurez de mes nouvelles, a threat recorded by the Académie in 1694, and pas de nouvelles, bonnes nouvelles (1890).[2][4]

From the 16th and 17th centuries it meant what one hears by rumour (1549), then the information given to the public (1659), above all in newspapers (1759); the nouvelles à la main were handwritten newsletters (1751).[2][4] In African French les nouvelles are the polite exchange in which a visitor says where they come from.[2]

Timeline

  • c. 1050 – Nuveles “news of someone”, in the Vie de saint Alexis.[4]
  • early 12th century – The singular, in the Voyage of Saint Brendan.[4]
  • 1535 – Bonnes nouvelles, the Gospel.[2]
  • 1549 – Rumour.[2]
  • 1694 – Vous aurez de mes nouvelles in the Académie's dictionary.[4]
  • 1751 – Nouvelles à la main in Voltaire.[4]
  • 1759 – News in the papers.[2]
  • 1890 – Pas de nouvelles, bonnes nouvelles.[2]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A piece of news, the first report of a recent event: connaissez-vous la nouvelle ?, une bonne nouvelle.[7][9]
  2. (plural) News of someone: donner de ses nouvelles.[4][2]
  3. (plural) The news, in the press or on radio and television.[2]
  4. La Bonne Nouvelle: the Gospel.[9][2]
  5. (familiar) Première nouvelle !: that's news to me![9]
  6. Vous aurez de mes nouvelles: you'll be hearing from me (a threat).[4][2]

Word family

  • nouvelliste

nouvelle2 short story

Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
1414, French translation of the Decameron
Borrowed from
Italian novella
Ultimate origin
Latin (novus)

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /nu.vɛl/[1]

Forms

nouvelle f (plural nouvelles)[1]

Etymology

The short story is borrowed from Italian novella (“imaginary tale”), the word Boccaccio used for the hundred tales of the “Decameron” (1348–1353), properly “piece of news”; the Italian word has the same origin as the word for news.[4][2][5] Spanish novela also comes from the Italian.[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found in 1414, in a French manuscript of the Decameron, qui contient cent nouvelles racomptees en dix iours (“which contains a hundred tales told in ten days”).[4][10]

Semantic evolution

Translations of the Decameron and of Poggio's Facetiae gave the model of a genre that replaced the verse fabliau and dit at the end of the Middle Ages, as in the Cent Nouvelles nouvelles, whose title plays on the word for news, and Marguerite de Navarre's Heptaméron.[2][5] In modern French it is a short narrative, close to the novel but distinguished from it by brevity, few characters and a concentrated action.[4][2]

Timeline

  • 1414 – A French manuscript of the Decameron calls its tales nouvelles.[4][10]
  • 15th century – The Cent Nouvelles nouvelles.[2][5]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A short story, a novella.[4][1]
  2. The short story as a literary genre.[2]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  3. ^ Anglo-Norman Dictionary (AND2), Aberystwyth University, anglo-norman.net (2nd ed., 2005–)
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Trésor de la langue française informatisé (2004), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/tlfi; electronic version of Imbs, Paul; Quemada, Bernard, eds. (1971–1994), Trésor de la langue française, Paris: CNRS / Gallimard
  5. ^ a b c d e f Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  6. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  7. ^ a b Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  8. ^ Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  9. ^ a b c Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)
  10. ^ a b Quemada, Bernard, ed. (1959–2006), Datations et documents lexicographiques (Base historique du vocabulaire français, BHVF), Paris: Klincksieck / CNRS / Champion; ATILF

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Nouvelle.” Etymologically, 18 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/nouvelle. Accessed 18 Oct. 2026.

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