nova
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nova¹
- /ˈnəʊvə/ UK
- /ˈnoʊvə/ US
Rhymes with -əʊvə
Where it comes from
Feminine nominative singular of Latin novus (“new”). The feminine is used since stella (“star”) is feminine; thus nova is a shortening of new star (“nova stella”), first used in this sense in 1573 by Tycho Brahe.
noun novae · novas
- Any sudden brightening of a previously inconspicuous star. In these stellar pairings, if the two stars are close together, the white dwarf will siphon mass away from its companion and have an outburst called a nova. And when the white dwarf accumulates too much mass, it will collapse and explode in a supernova.
- Ellipsis of classical nova
nova²
- /ˈnəʊvə/ UK
- /ˈnoʊvə/ US
Rhymes with -əʊvə
Where it comes from
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).
noun novums
- plural of novum
Nova³
Where it comes from
From Latin nova (“new”).
proper noun
- A female given name from Latin. Did you notice the dog which in the winter sports scenes is clasped in the arms of the child-star, Nova Pilbeam?
Nova⁴
Where it comes from
Clipping of Nova Scotia.
noun
- Smoked Nova Scotia salmon.
Nova⁵
Where it comes from
Abbreviation of Northern Virginia.
proper noun
- Alternative letter-case form of NoVA
NoVA⁶
Where it comes from
Blend of northern + VA (“Virginia”).
proper noun Nova · NOVA · NoVa
- Acronym of Northern Virginia
NOVA⁷
proper noun
- Alternative letter-case form of NoVA (“North Virginia”).
noun NOVAs
- Initialism of notification of vehicle arrival
- Acronym of neuro-oncological ventral antigen
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: into, news, province, scotia, the, novel, new, newfoundland, nunavut, goa, kingston, ontario, manitoba, bossa, nouvelle, renewed
Translations
Every language
noun sudden brightening of a star
| Español | nova |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 신성 sinseong |
| 日本語 | 新星 shinsei |
| 中文 | 新星 xīnxīng |
| Português | nova |
| Français | nova |
| Deutsch | Nova |
| Italiano | nova |
| Ελληνικά | νόβα nóva, καινοφανής kainofanís, νεολαμπής neolampís |
| Română | novă |
| Русский | но́вая звезда́ nóvaja zvezdá, но́вая nóvaja, но́ва nóva |
| Tiếng Việt | tân tinh |
| العربية | مُسْتَعِر mustaʕir |
Talk about this word "nova." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/nova. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. nova. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/nova "nova." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/nova.Cite this
@misc{nova_2026,
title = {nova},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/nova},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
