Little ones are novel (5)
I believe the answer is:
women
'little ones' is the definition.
Although both the answer and definition are plural nouns, I don't see how they can define each other.
I don't understand how the rest of the clue works.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for women that I've seen before include "half of our race" , "Adult human females" , "Ladies" .)