nouveau

English

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from French nouveau. Recognized as English in 1828. Doublet of novel.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /nuːˈvəʊ/

Adjective

nouveau (not comparable)

  1. New, fashionable.

Noun

nouveau (plural nouveaus or nouveaux)

  1. (oenology) A wine released in the same year that the grapes were harvested to make it.
    • 1982 February, Orange Coast Magazine, page 107:
      Nouveaus are wines to be drunk, not to be sipped.

French

Etymology

Inherited from Middle French nouveau, from Old French novel, from Latin novellus.

Pronunciation

Adjective

nouveau (masculine singular before vowel nouvel, feminine nouvelle, masculine plural nouveaux, feminine plural nouvelles)

  1. new, novel

Usage notes

  • nouveau is a French adjective which when possessing an attributive function can precede its noun.
  • When used in the masculine singular, nouveau becomes nouvel before a word beginning with a vowel or a mute h.

Derived terms

Descendants

  • Haitian Creole: nouvo
  • Mauritian Creole: nouvo
  • Seychellois Creole: nouvo
  • English: nouveau

Noun

nouveau m (plural nouveaux, feminine nouvelle)

  1. new person, new thing
    Antonym: vieux

Derived terms

Further reading

Middle French

Etymology

From Old French novel, from Latin novellus, from novus (new).

Pronunciation

Adjective

nouveau m (feminine singular nouvelle, masculine plural nouveaulx, feminine plural nouvelles)

  1. new

Antonyms

  • (antonym(s) of new): vieulx

Descendants