nova

plural novae · plural novas

1. astronomyAny sudden brightening of a previously inconspicuous star.

   In these stellar pairings, if the two stars are close together, the white dwarf will siphon mass away from its companion and have an outburst called a nova. And when the white dwarf accumulates too much mass, it will collapse and explode in a supernova.

   2024 August 21, Ashley Strickland, “An unusual object is moving so fast it could escape the Milky Way. Scientists aren’t certain what it is”, in CNN, archived from the original on 24 Sep 2024

2. abbreviationellipsisastronomyEllipsis of classical nova

alternative novums

1. pluralplural of novum

1. A female given name from Latin.

   Did you notice the dog which in the winter sports scenes is clasped in the arms of the child-star, Nova Pilbeam?

   1935, Berta Ruck, A Story-Teller Tells the Truth, Hutchinson, page 266

   1 more example

   He murmurs to himself, "Her body is twenty-two, but she is in the infancy of a second life. I will call her Nova, the New One."

   1951, The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, Mercury Press, page 71

1. uncountableSmoked Nova Scotia salmon.

1. Alternative letter-case form of NoVA.

alternative Nova · alternative NOVA · alternative NoVa

1. abbreviationacronymAcronym of Northern Virginia.

1. Alternative letter-case form of NoVA (“North Virginia”).

plural NOVAs

1. UKabbreviationinitialismInitialism of notification of vehicle arrival.
2. abbreviationacronymbiochemistryAcronym of neuro-oncological ventral antigen.