novelty
nov·el·ty/ˈnɑvəlti/noun, adjective
novelty is spelled N-O-V-E-L-T-Y: 7 letters and 3 syllables (nov·el·ty). It appears 4.6 times per million words in written English, the 11,870th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, novelty means “The state of being new or novel; newness” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of novelty is novelties.
How many letters and syllables are in novelty?
| Letters | 7: N-O-V-E-L-T-Y |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3: nov·el·ty |
| In writing | 4.6 times per million words; the 11,870th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is novelty?
Novelty appears 4.6 times per million words in written English, the 11,870th 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 novelty?
- US /ˈnɑvəlti/
- UK /ˈnɒvəlti/
Novelty has 3 syllables, split nov·el·ty in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-novelty.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of novelty
- novelties plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does novelty mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
The state of being new or novel; newness.
- 2
A new product; an innovation.
- 3
A small mass-produced trinket.
- 4
In novelty theory, newness, density of complexification, and dynamic change as opposed to static habituation.
- 5
An opening move played for the first time ever (in high-level chess).
adjective
- 1
In the design of a common household item, often impractically large, and meant primarily for display rather than functional use.
My novelty calculator works fine but it hurts my hands to press the keys.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Novelty in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | nouveauté |
| German | Neuheit, Neuartigkeit , neues Produkt, Krimskrams |
| Portuguese | novidade |
| Spanish | novedad |
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 novelty come from?
From Middle English novelte, from Old French novelté (Modern French nouveauté), from the adjective novel, ultimately from Latin novellus. By surface analysis, novel + -ty.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).