Edit page | Page history | Printable version

Definition

‘’adverb & adjective

(1) Anew; afresh; beginning again; from the start.

(2) New; not present previously; just beginning.

Supplement

The term ‘’de novo’’ is often italicized when written to indicate that it is a Latin phrase. An example of its usage is:

• biochemistry : ’’de novo’’ synthesis of a complex molecule, which refers to the biochemical pathway where a complex biomolecule is synthesized anew from simple molecules.

• bioinformatics : ’’de novo’’ peptide sequencing, a form of sequencing.

• genetics : ‘’de novo’’ mutation, a genetic mutation that neither parent possessed nor transmitted.

Word origin: From the Latin adverb dē novō (“‘from the new’”); from dē (“‘from’”) + novō, the ablative singular of novus (“‘new’”).

Related term:

• De novo pathway