— newness , n.
/nooh, nyooh/ , adj., newer, newest , adv. , n.
adj.
1. of recent origin, production, purchase, etc.; having but lately come or been brought into being: a new book.
2. of a kind now existing or appearing for the first time; novel: a new concept of the universe.
3. having but lately or but now come into knowledge: a new chemical element.
4. unfamiliar or strange (often fol. by to ): ideas new to us; to visit new lands.
5. having but lately come to a place, position, status, etc.: a reception for our new minister.
6. unaccustomed (usually fol. by to ): people new to such work.
7. coming or occurring afresh; further; additional: new gains.
8. fresh or unused: to start a new sheet of paper.
9. (of physical or moral qualities) different and better: The vacation made a new man of him.
10. other than the former or the old: a new era; in the New World.
11. being the later or latest of two or more things of the same kind: the New Testament; a new edition of Shakespeare.
12. ( cap. ) (of a language) in its latest known period, esp. as a living language at the present time: New High German.
adv.
13. recently or lately (usually used in combination): The valley was green with new-planted crops.
14. freshly; anew or afresh (often used in combination): roses new washed with dew; new-mown hay.
n.
15. something that is new; a new object, quality, condition, etc.: Ring out the old, ring in the new.
[ bef. 900; ME newe (adj., adv., and n.), OE neowe, niewe, niwe (adj. and adv.); c. D nieuw, G neu, ON nyr, Goth niujis, OIr núe, Welsh newydd, Gk neîos; akin to L novus, OCS novu, Gk néos, Skt navas ]
Syn . NEW, FRESH, NOVEL describe things that have not existed or have not been known or seen before. NEW refers to something recently made, grown, or built, or recently found, invented, or discovered: a new car; new techniques. FRESH refers to something that has retained its original properties, or has not been affected by use or the passage of time: fresh strawberries; fresh ideas. NOVEL refers to something new that has an unexpected, strange, or striking quality, generally pleasing: a novel experience.
Pronunciation . Following the alveolar consonants /t/ , /d/ , and /n/ , two main types of pronunciation occur for the "long" vowel represented by the spellings u, ue, discontinuous u...e, and ew, as in STUDENT, DUE, NUDE, and NEW. In the North and North Midland U.S. /ooh/ immediately follows the alveolar consonant: /stoohd"nt/ , /dooh/ , /noohd/ , and /nooh/ .
In the South Midland and Southern U.S., pronunciations of the type /styoohd"nt/ , /dyooh/ , /nyoohd/ , and /nyooh/ predominate. Both these types are traceable to England, as well as some less common ones, for example, those in which the high front vowel /i/ substitutes for the /y/ . A belief that the /yooh/ pronunciations are more prestigious sometimes leads to hypercorrection, the insertion of the y sound where historically it does not belong, leading to such pronunciations as /nyoohn/ for noon.
Currently in the United States, a /y/ following /s/ , /z/ , /th/ , and /l/ , as in sue /syooh/ , resume /ri zyoohm"/ , enthusiasm /en thyooh"see az'euhm/ , and illusion /i lyooh"zheuhn/ , is used by some speakers, but is considered affected by others.