Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English homepage

Date: 1300-1400
Language: Old French
Origin: novelté, from novel; NOVEL2

novelty

 noun
     
nov‧el‧ty plural novelties
1 [uncountable] the quality of being new, unusual, and interesting
novelty of
the novelty of the ideas
Many toys have no attraction beyond their novelty value.
It was fun for a while, but the novelty wore off (=it became boring).
2 [countable] something new and unusual which attracts people's attention and interest:
Then the Internet was still something of a novelty.
3 [countable]DC an unusual, small, cheap object, often given as a present:
a selection of novelties and t-shirts
a novelty key-ring
Definition from the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
Advanced Learner's Dictionary.

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