Innovation

How to spell innovation

10 letters · 4 syllables

How to pronounce innovation

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does innovation mean?

1. nounA new idea, method, or product, or the act of introducing one.

Innovation in a sentence

• The company invests heavily in innovation to stay ahead of rivals.

• This medical innovation has shortened recovery times dramatically.

Where does innovation come from?

Language of origin: Latin

The word descends from the Latin verb innovare, meaning 'to renew' or 'to make new', which combines the prefix in- 'into' with novus, the ordinary Latin word for 'new'. The same novus root sits inside familiar relatives like 'novel', 'novelty', and 'renovate', all of which carry that same flavour of freshness or newness. The action noun innovatio in Late Latin described the act of bringing in something new, and English took the word in through French in the 1500s. For a long stretch innovation actually carried a faintly negative tone, suggesting dangerous tampering with established customs rather than welcome progress. Only later did it settle into its modern, broadly positive sense of fresh ideas and new methods, while the double n at the start (from in- meeting nov-) remains the small spelling point worth noticing.

How the word is built

• in- (into)
• nov (new, from Latin novus)
• -ation (noun of action)