1
- a fictitious prose narrative of book length, typically representing character and action with some degree of realism（长篇）小说：
the novels of Jane Austen.
简·奥斯丁的小说。
1.1
- a book containing such a narrative小说书：
she was reading a paperback novel.
她在看一本平装小说书。
1.2
the novel
the literary genre represented or exemplified by such works（作为文学作品的一种类型）小说：the novel is the most adaptable of all literary forms.
小说是一切文学形式中最容易改编的形式。
词源
mid 16th cent.: from Italian novella （storia） 'new (story)'， feminine of novello 'new'， from Latin novellus, from novus 'new'. The word is also found from late Middle English until the 18th cent. in the sense 'a novelty， a piece of news'， from Old French novelle （see NOVEL2）.