la novena

Definition & meaning

Novena has two related meanings:

1. A nine-day religious devotion: a series of prayers or other religious observances performed over nine consecutive days, often in preparation for a religious feast or in honor of a saint.
2. A ninth one: the feminine form of the ordinal “ninth,” used before a feminine noun, as in “the ninth edition.”

Grammar & Word origin

Novena is a feminine noun when it means a religious devotion: una novena. As an ordinal, it is the feminine form of noveno ↗, “ninth,” and agrees with the feminine noun it describes.

The word is historically related to nueve ↗, “nine,” and ultimately comes from Latin novenus, meaning “ninth.”

Synonyms & antonyms

• novenario ↗: A close synonym for the nine-day period or religious observance. It can emphasize the duration or the practice itself.
• oración ↗: “Prayer.” A novena commonly involves prayers, but oración refers to a prayer generally, not specifically a nine-day devotion.

There is no direct, standard antonym for novena in either sense.

Common phrases & collocations

• rezar una novena [?](vocabuo://word/rezar una novena): to pray a novena
• hacer una novena [?](vocabuo://word/hacer una novena): to observe or perform a novena
• novena de Navidad [?](vocabuo://word/novena de Navidad): Christmas novena
• novena a la Virgen [?](vocabuo://word/novena a la Virgen): novena to the Virgin Mary