nova
/ˈnoʊ.və/noun
nova is spelled N-O-V-A: 4 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 8.3 times per million words in written English, the 8,036th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, nova means “Any sudden brightening of a previously inconspicuous star” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of nova is novae or novas.
How many letters and syllables are in nova?
| Letters | 4: N-O-V-A |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 8.3 times per million words; the 8,036th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is nova?
Nova appears 8.3 times per million words in written English, the 8,036th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce nova?
- UK /ˈnəʊ.və/
- US /ˈnoʊ.və/
Nova has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Wodencafe-nova.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with nova?
3 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as nova from its last stressed vowel (/oʊvə/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of nova
- novae plural
- novas plural
- novums
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does nova mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
Any sudden brightening of a previously inconspicuous star.
- 2
Ellipsis of classical nova
- 3
plural of novum
noun
- 1
Smoked Nova Scotia salmon.
noun
- 1
UKInitialism of notification of vehicle arrival.
- 2
Acronym of neuro-oncological ventral antigen.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Nova in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense sudden brightening of a star:
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does nova come from?
Feminine nominative singular of Latin novus (“new”). 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.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).