Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • adjective Having been made or come into being only a short time ago; recent.
  • adjective Still fresh.
  • adjective Never used or worn before now.
  • adjective Just found, discovered, or learned.
  • adjective Not previously experienced or encountered; novel or unfamiliar.
  • adjective Different from the former or the old.
  • adjective Recently obtained or acquired.
  • adjective Additional; further.
  • adjective Recently arrived or established in a place, position, or relationship.
  • adjective Changed for the better; rejuvenated.
  • adjective Being the later or latest in a sequence.
  • adjective Currently fashionable.
  • adjective In the most recent form, period, or development.
  • adjective Inexperienced or unaccustomed.
  • adjective Of or relating to a new moon.
  • adverb Freshly; recently. Often used in combination.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • Newly; lately; recently.
  • Anew.
  • [New is much used adverbially in composition: as, in new- born, new -droppedj new -made, new -grown, new -formed, new -found.)]
  • To make new; renew.
  • To renew itself; become new.
  • Lately or freshly made, invented, produced, grown, or in any way or by any means come into being or use; novel; recent; having existed a short time only: opposed to old, and used of things: as, a new coat; a new book; a new fashion; a new idea; new wine; new cheese; new potatoes.
  • Lately introduced to knowledge; not before known; recently discovered: as, a new metal; a new species of animals or plants.
  • Appearing in a changed character or condition, or in a changed aspect of opinion, feeling, or health, resulting from the influence of a change in the dominant idea, principle, or habit; changed from the former state, physical, mental, moral, or spiritual, of the same person.
  • [In the following extract used substantively:
  • Not habituated; unfamiliar; unaccustomed: as, he is new to his surroundings; a statement new to me.
  • Other than the former or the old; different ; not the same as before: as, a new horse.
  • Freshly emerged from any condition or the effects of any event.
  • Not previously well known; not belonging to a well-known family, or not long known to history: as, new people.
  • Not used before, or recently brought into use; not second-hand: as, a new copy of a book; new furniture.
  • Recently begun; starting afresh: as, a new moon.
  • Retaining original freshness; unimpaired.
  • Not the old; distinguished from the old while named after it: used specifically in place-names: as, New York; New London; New Guinea.
  • Modern; in present use: as, New High German; New Latin; New Greek.
  • Synonyms New, Novel, Modern, Fresh, Recent, Late. In this connection new is opposed to old; novel to familiar; modern to ancient, medieval, antiquated, old-fashioned; fresh to stale; recent and late to early. New is the general word; that which is novel is unexpected, strange, striking, often in new form, but also pleasing: as, a novel combination of old ideas; that which is modern and fresh exists at the time referred tu; that which is recent or late is separated from the time of action by only a short interval: as, the late ministry, a recent arrival, recent times.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • verb obsolete To make new; to renew.
  • adverb Newly; recently.
  • adverb [Obs.] anew.
  • adjective Having existed, or having been made, but a short time; having originated or occured lately; having recently come into existence, or into one's possession; not early or long in being; of late origin; recent; fresh; modern; -- opposed to old
  • adjective Not before seen or known, although existing before; lately manifested; recently discovered
  • adjective Newly beginning or recurring; starting anew; now commencing; different from what has been
  • adjective As if lately begun or made; having the state or quality of original freshness; also, changed for the better; renovated; unworn; untried; unspent.
  • adjective Not of ancient extraction, or of a family of ancient descent; not previously known or famous.
  • adjective Not habituated; not familiar; unaccustomed.
  • adjective Fresh from anything; newly come.
  • adjective See under Birth.
  • adjective the church holding the doctrines taught by Emanuel Swedenborg. See Swedenborgian.
  • adjective (Theol.) a heart or character changed by the power of God, so as to be governed by new and holy motives.

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English newe, from Old English nīwe, nēowe; see newo- in Indo-European roots.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Middle English newe, from Old English nīwe, nēowe ("new"), from Proto-Germanic *niwjaz (“new, fresh”), from Proto-Indo-European *néwos (“new”).

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Examples

  • No. 844/General Motors/U.S./Consumer durables In June 2009 “old” GM filed for bankruptcy and sold “substantially” all of its assets to a new independent company (the ”new” GM), which currently doesn’t trade.

    Global 2000 Drop-Offs 2010

  • Consumers Union, together with five other consumer and science groups, today expressed continued support for the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA), and urged President Obama to appoint new leadership to the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) to help implement the new  law.

    Consumer advocates call for new leadership of the Consumer Product Safety Commission 2009

  • It was the _other_ new, too, the _new_ new -- the new people, including my uncle, who soon would see what Father and Mother and I had built.

    Asimov's Science Fiction 2004

  • (NOH-vuh) In astronomy, the appearance of a new star in the sky (nova is Latin for “new”).

    nova 2002

  • New floormats, new carpets, new  side carpets, new seat.

    TEDBUNDY Michaud, S G & Aynesworth H 1989

  • The extreme form of uncritical veneration of the past may be said to take the position that old things are good simply because they are _old_; new things are evil simply because they are _new_.

    Human Traits and their Social Significance Irwin Edman

  • The other extreme is represented by the position that old things are bad because they are _old_, and new things good because they are _new_.

    Human Traits and their Social Significance Irwin Edman

  • Marianne and I have counted six new hats apiece of those girls ', -- _new_, you know, just out of the milliner's shop; and last Sunday they came out in such lovely puffed tulle bonnets!

    The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 14, No. 82, August, 1864 Various

  • Poetry, who is the barrel-shaped member of our gang, had made up a poem about our new teacher, whom not a one of us liked very well, on account of not wanting a _new_ teacher when we'd liked our pretty lady other teacher so _extra_ well.

    Shenanigans at Sugar Creek Paul Hutchens

  • The entirely new dresses of a theatre are like the habiliments of the professional singer, i.e. neither one nor the other ever _were entirely new_, and never will be allowed to grow entirely old.

    Punch, or the London Charivari, Volume 1, July 17, 1841 Various

Comments

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  • Notable for the original Indo-European word having been preserved (mutatis mutandis) in virtually every descendant; the only exception I can find is Albanian (m. ri, f. re).

    February 26, 2009

  • Everyone wants the 'new' thing. We may be bored with advertisements but if they promise us something 'new' that can get our interest.

    '15 words that will make you money'

    July 23, 2009