néwos

The adjective *néwos ("new") exhibits one of the most perfect sets of correspondences in Indo-European linguistics. The reflexes are so regular that the word serves as a standard illustration of the comparative method in introductory textbooks. Latin novus ("new") yields an extensive derivative family: novel (both the adjective "new" and the noun for a new kind of literary work), novice, innovate, renovate, nova (a "new" star), and November (from novem, "nine" — the ninth month of the original Roman calendar, but also associated with novus in folk etymology). Greek néos (νέος) gives the prefix neo- (neologism, neophyte, neonatal, Neolithic, neon — the "new" element), as well as the name Neapolis ("new city," whence Naples). Sanskrit návas shows the regular Indo-Iranian development. The related compound nava-ratna ("nine jewels") employs a form of the same root. English new (from Old English nīwe, Proto-Germanic *newjaz) preserves the root with full regularity. German neu, Dutch nieuw, Swedish ny, and Gothic niujis continue the same line. The English derivative news (originally "new things") has no connection to the cardinal directions (contrary to a popular folk etymology). Lithuanian naũjas and Old Church Slavonic novŭ show the expected Balto-Slavic reflexes. Old Irish núe, Welsh newydd, and Armenian nor complete the picture across Celtic and Armenian. The adjective *néwos is formally a thematic o-stem, one of the most productive nominal classes in PIE. Its semantic stability — "new" in virtually every branch — contrasts with many PIE adjectives that underwent significant semantic drift. The concept of newness, being fundamental to human experience, resists metaphorical extension and lexical replacement.