noviam

(Sp. model spelled same [nóßja] < Vulgar Latin noviam 'newly-wed woman' or 'woman being married')

   Bentley: 1929. A sweetheart or girlfriend. Bentley suggests that in Spanish this term is confined to a bride or a girl about to be married. However, the DRAE gives a broader definition, indicating that it may mean someone who engages in romantic relations with the expectation of someday being married. Simon and Schuster's International Dictionary gives 'girlfriend' and 'sweetheart' as two of the meanings of this term. See also dulce.