Nothing new in literature, originally (3)
I believe the answer is:
nil
'nothing' is the definition.
('nil' can be a synonym of 'nothing')
'new in literature originally' is the wordplay.
'originally' says to take the initial letters.
The first letters of 'new in literature' is 'NIL'.
(Other definitions for nil that I've seen before include "Nothing, naught" , "duck" , "0" , "You get nothing" , "Lacking value" .)