Etymograph

English

nova

Nova comes from Latin novus ‘new’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *nu ‘now’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*nu1‘now’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*néwos2‘new’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*nowos2‘new’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEnovus3‘new’
  5. Englishearliest quotation 2024nova3

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Proto-Indo-European *néwos
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Latin novus
  3. 3 Wiktionary, English nova
  4. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2024, Ashley Strickland: “In these stellar pairings, if the two stars are…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*nuWiktionary, Proto-Indo-European *néwos‘now’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*néwosWiktionary, Latin novus‘new’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*nowosWiktionary, Latin novus‘new’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEnovusWiktionary, English nova‘new’
  5. Englishearliest quotation 2024novaWiktionary, English nova. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2024, Ashley Strickland: “In these stellar pairings, if the two stars are…”

first attested 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 (as stated in Wiktionary’s etymology)

The story

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.

Full etymology on Wiktionary

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *nu ‘now’

noo, 12 more

through Proto-Indo-European *néwos ‘new’

new, newly, newer, innovation, neon, renovation, newness, innovate, innovator, renovate, 11 more

through Proto-Italic *nowos ‘new’

telenovela, 7 more

through Latin novus ‘new’

novel, novice, nuevo, novitiate, 8 more

Today it means

noun Any sudden brightening of a previously inconspicuous star.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “nova”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Proto-Indo-European *néwos, Latin novus. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *nu / nova

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