Word
nova
Phoneticsno·va
US/ˈnoʊvə/
UK/nˈəʊvɐ/
Definitions
01astronomy
n. a star that suddenly gets much brighter for a few days or weeks and then slowly fades away.
n. a transient astronomical event where a star's brightness increases by several magnitudes due to an explosion on its surface.
“The astronomer spent the night recording the light coming from the new nova.”
“The discovery of a nova in the Andromeda Galaxy provided researchers with a rare opportunity to study the dynamics of binary star systems.”
Technical
Usage
Countable; the plural is usually 'novae' in scientific contexts or 'novas' in general use.
Synonyms
02food
n. a type of smoked salmon that is cured in a specific way.
n. a style of smoked salmon, originally from Nova Scotia, that is cured in a mild brine before being cold-smoked.
“He ordered a bagel with cream cheese and nova for breakfast.”
“The deli is famous for its hand-sliced nova, which is prized for its delicate texture and subtle saltiness compared to traditional lox.”
American English
Usage
Uncountable; often used as a modifier before other nouns like 'salmon'.
Synonyms
Etymology
From Latin nova (“new”).
Clipping of Nova Scotia.
Abbreviation of Northern Virginia.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Word family
Domain
Scan code
englishreference.com/q/nova