Supernova
/ˌsuːpərˈnoʊvə/noun
A star that suddenly increases greatly in brightness before fading.
Did you know?The word was coined in the 1930s from Latin roots, but the event itself was so rare and terrifying that ancient cultures often recorded them as omens in the sky.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*néwos
“new”
Latin
Latin
novus
“new, fresh”
Latin
Latin
super
“above, over, beyond”
1930s
English
super-nova
“a star that appears above the normal brightness of a nova”
Modern English
English
supernova
“a stellar explosion of extraordinary brightness”