nōˈvelə noun
( plural novel·las -ləz ; or novel·le -(ˌ)lā ; see numbered senses )
Etymology: Italian, from feminine of novello new, from Latin novellus, from novus new — more at new
1. plural novelle : a story with a compact and pointed plot
found the plots of several of his plays in Italian novelle
2. plural usually novellas : a short novel : a work of fiction intermediate in length and complexity between a short story and a novel
is not a major work of fiction, but as a novella it is a gem — Newsweek
— called also nouvelle