Answer: The word that means "a quotation at the beginning of a novel” is "epigraph".
Step-by-step explanation: The word "epigraph" is a noun and it makes reference to a quotation, that is to say a phrase or sentence previously written or pronounced by another author, which is placed at the beginning of a piece of writing, such as a novel or a short story. The prefix contained in "epigraph", "epi-", also signals this meaning as "epi-" means "above" or "on top of".