Novelty: The Pleasure That Wears Off by Definition
Novelty is the quality of being new, and a small cheap object made to amuse. The word contains its own expiry date.
Novelty is newness, and the interest that newness creates. The word carries its own limit: novelty is a quality that must fade, which is why *the novelty wore off* is one of the commonest phrases it appears in. Shops use it for small amusing objects that are bought once and rarely twice.
- The quality of being new. *The novelty of the idea.*
- A small amusing object. *A novelty keyring.*
- Something new and unusual. *Snow here is a novelty.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | novelty | Sheer novelty. |
| Plural | novelties | Seaside novelties. |
| Adjective | novel | A novel approach. |
| Related | novice | A complete novice. |
| Related | innovation | Technical innovation. |
How it is used in a sentence
- The novelty soon wore off.The phrase the word lives in.
- It was sold as a novelty item.Retail category.
- His approach was genuinely novel.Novel as an adjective means new, not fictional.
The new family
- Novel — new, and also a long work of fiction
- Novice — someone new to an activity
- Innovation — the introduction of something new
- Renovate — make new again
- Nova — a star that suddenly brightens, once thought to be new
From Old French *novelte*, from Latin *novus*, new. The book called a *novel* got its name from Italian *novella*, a new story, so the two senses share a single ancestor.
Why is a book called a novel?
From Italian *novella storia*, a new story. The name distinguished new prose tales from older romances.
Novelty or innovation?
Novelty is newness in itself, and may be trivial. Innovation implies something new that is also useful.