nova
1 of 2noun (1)
no·va ˈnō-və 
plural novas or novae ˈnō-(ˌ)vē
-ˌvī
: a star that suddenly increases its light output tremendously and then fades away to its former obscurity in a few months or years
novalike
ˈnō-və-ˌlīk
adjective nova
2 of 2noun (2)
often capitalized
: cured and smoked salmon
especially : salmon that has been cured in a mixture of salt and sugar and smoked at a low temperature
Word History
Etymology
Noun (1)
borrowed from New Latin, "newly visible star or nebula" (probably originally as ellipsis of nebula nova, later taken as ellipsis of stella nova "new star"), from feminine of Latin novus "new" — more at new entry 1
Noun (2)
short for Nova Scotia salmon
First Known Use
Noun (1)
1927, in the meaning defined above
Noun (2)
1964, in the meaning defined above
Phrases Containing nova
novas
noun
variants or novae
as in supernovas
astronomy a star that suddenly increases greatly in brightness and then within a few months or years becomes less bright again Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
- supernovas
- pulsars
- quasars
- supergiants
- supernovae
- variables
- subdwarfs
- gassers
- superclusters
- lodestars
- neutron stars
- binary stars
- red giants
- variable stars
- red stars
- white dwarfs
- giant stars
- fixed stars
- brown dwarfs
- galaxies
- red dwarfs
- suns
- loadstars
- dwarves
- dwarfs
- brown dwarves
- luminaries
- spheres
- clusters
- constellations