novus

Novus, nova, novum declines like bonus but has no comparative of its own; recentior does that job. It does have a superlative, novissimus, and that is the first trap: it does not mean "newest" but "last, hindmost". The last man in a column is the most recently added one, so novissimum agmen is the rearguard and novissima verba are a man's dying words.

The second trap is res novae, literally "new things", which is the standard Latin for revolution. A writer who says somebody was eager for res novae is calling him a subversive, not an innovator. Novus homo is its own political term, the first man of a family to reach the consulship, and it was not a compliment. Family: novitas, novo, renovo, novellus. Nothing to do with novem, "nine". English novel, novelty, novice, innovate, renovate; French neuf and nouveau, Spanish nuevo.