novelista

Forms

novelista m or f by sense (plural novelistas)^[1] The older spelling was novellista.^[2][3]

Etymology

It is formed from Portuguese novela + -ista.^[2][1][4][5] The noun novela is from Italian novella (“news; tale”), the noun use of the feminine of novello (“new”), from Latin novellus (“new, young”), a diminutive of novus (“new”), from Proto-Indo-European *néwos.^[6][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

Houaiss dates the first record to 1817–1819, in the spelling novellista;^[2][3] Cunha's first date is 1881.^[2][3]

Semantic evolution

The original Caldas Aulete defines the novelista as a person who tells or writes novelas.^[7] Beside the writer of novellas, the word took the senses of a teller of implausible stories and of a person who weaves intrigues and carries gossip, like noveleiro.^[2][4][5] With novela in the sense “radio or television serial”, it also names the author of such serials, and it is used for a novelist in general, a romancista.^[7][8]

Timeline

• 1817–1819 – first record, as novellista.^[2]
• 1881 – Cunha's first date, as novellista.^[3]

Meanings

Noun

1. A writer of novelas, novellas; a novelist, romancista.^[2][5][4][1]
2. (Brazil) A writer of radio or television serials (telenovelas).^[7][8]

Adjective

1. (pejorative) Given to telling unlikely stories.^[2]
2. Fond of intrigue and gossip; noveleiro.^[2][4][5]

Related words

• romancista
• noveleiro
• novo

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Houaiss, Antônio; Villar, Mauro de Salles (2001), Dicionário Houaiss da língua portuguesa, Rio de Janeiro: Objetiva, p. s.v. novelista
3. ^ a b c d Cunha, Antônio Geraldo da (2010), Dicionário etimológico da língua portuguesa, 4th ed., Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon, p. s.v. novelista
4. ^ a b c d Academia das Ciências de Lisboa, Dicionário da Língua Portuguesa, revised online edition (2023–) of the Dicionário da Língua Portuguesa Contemporânea (2001), https://dicionario.acad-ciencias.pt, p. s.v. novelista
5. ^ a b c d Ferreira, Aurélio Buarque de Holanda, Novo dicionário Aurélio da língua portuguesa, digital edition, p. s.v. novelista
6. ^ Houaiss, Antônio; Villar, Mauro de Salles (2001), Dicionário Houaiss da língua portuguesa, Rio de Janeiro: Objetiva, p. s.v. novela
7. ^ a b c Aulete, Francisco Júlio Caldas, Dicionário contemporâneo da língua portuguesa (1st ed. 1881), online as Aulete Digital, Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon, https://aulete.com.br, p. s.v. novelista
8. ^ a b Wikcionário (Portuguese Wiktionary), pt.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. novelista