English
telenovela
Telenovela comes from Spanish telenovela ‘soap opera/telenovela’, from Italian novella ‘tale, story, short story’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *nu ‘now’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*nu1‘now’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*néwos1‘new’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*nowos1‘new’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEnovus1‘new, novel’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEnovellus1‘novel, newly made’
- Vulgar Latinc. 100–700 CE*novella1‘a newly planted vine or shoot’reconstructed
- Italianc. 1300–presentnovella1‘tale, story, short story’
- Spanishc. 1500–presentnovela1‘soap opera, telenovela’
- Spanishc. 1500–presenttelenovela1‘soap opera/telenovela’
- Englishtodaytelenovela1
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, English telenovela
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*nuWiktionary, English telenovela‘now’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*néwosWiktionary, English telenovela‘new’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*nowosWiktionary, English telenovela‘new’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEnovusWiktionary, English telenovela‘new, novel’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEnovellusWiktionary, English telenovela‘novel, newly made’
- Vulgar Latinc. 100–700 CE*novellaWiktionary, English telenovela‘a newly planted vine or shoot’reconstructed
- Italianc. 1300–presentnovellaWiktionary, English telenovela‘tale, story, short story’
- Spanishc. 1500–presentnovelaWiktionary, English telenovela‘soap opera, telenovela’
- Spanishc. 1500–presenttelenovelaWiktionary, English telenovela‘soap opera/telenovela’
- EnglishtodaytelenovelaWiktionary, English telenovela
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *nu ‘now’
through Proto-Indo-European *néwos ‘new’
new, newly, innovation, newer, neon, renovation, innovator, innovate, newness, renovate, 10 more
through Proto-Italic *nowos ‘new’
through Latin novus ‘new, novel’
nova, novice, nuevo, novitiate, 7 more
through Latin novellus ‘novel, newly made’
through Vulgar Latin *novella ‘a newly planted vine or shoot’
through Italian novella ‘tale, story, short story’
Today it means
noun A television soap opera presented as a miniseries.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “telenovela”. 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 / telenovela