Novel

Novel \NOV-uhl\ , noun;
1. A fictitious prose narrative of considerable length and complexity, portraying characters and usually presenting a sequential organization of action and scenes

Novel dates to the 1560's from Italian novella ("short story"). Originally novella meant "new story" from Latin novella ("new things"), which is the neuter plural or feminine form of novellus. Novellus is the forebear of the adjective novel (via French novel, "new, fresh, recent"), which predates the noun by about 50 years. The Latin terms ultimately derive from Proto-Indo-European *newos, from which we also get English new via Proto-Germanic *newjaz and Old English neowe and niwe.