Meanings
plural coquels
- A narrative about events occurring simultaneously with events of another narrative on which it is based.
We might also consider adaptation alongside the processes of publishing sequels, prequels and coquels, and fan fiction.
2008, Rachel Malik, “Horizons of the Publishable: Publishing in/as Literary Studies”, in ELH, volume 75, number 3, →JSTOR, page 7272 more examples
A whole constellation of terms such as prequel, coquel and sequel, that have been designed to account for the many, endless rewritings of books like Jane Eyre or Dracula, goes some way towards establishing this never-ending process of literary mutations, pre-empting the possibility of closure.
2009, Georges Letissier, “Introduction”, in Georges Letissier, editor, Rewriting/Reprising: Plural Intertextualities, Cambridge Scholars, page 4Yet more recent, and possibly still a neologism, is the word "coquel", which like "prequel" is adapted from "sequel" with a prefix that indicates its temporal relation to the plot of the source: coquels evoke events that are simultaneous with the source text.
2018, Armelle Parey, “Introduction: Narrative Expansions – The Story So Far...”, in Armelle Parey, editor, Prequels, Coquels and Sequels in Contemporary Anglophone Fiction, RoutledgeSynonyms: midquel
Synonyms & antonyms
nounA narrative about events occurring simultaneously with events of another narrative on which it is based.
Origin
Patterned after sequel using co- (“alongside”).
Full word history & related roots →Rhymes & wordplay
Anagrams
Cite this entry
coquel. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/coquel
“coquel.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/coquel. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “coquel,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/coquel.
Source: coquel on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.