natal

¹

[neyt-l]

adjective

1. of or relating to a person's birth.

   celebrating one's natal day.

2. presiding over or affecting a person at birth.

   natal influences.

3. (of places) native.

   nostalgia for one's natal town.

Natal

²

[nuh-tal, -tahl, nuh-tawl]

noun

1. a province in the E part of the Republic of South Africa. 35,284 sq. mi. (91,886 sq. km). Pietermaritzburg.

2. a seaport in E Brazil.

Natal

¹

noun

1. a former province of E South Africa, between the Drakensberg and the Indian Ocean: set up as a republic by the Boers in 1838; became a British colony in 1843; joined South Africa in 1910; replaced by KwaZulu-Natal in 1994. Capital: Pietermaritzburg

2. a port in NE Brazil, capital of Rio Grande do Norte state, near the mouth of the Potengi River. Pop: 1 049 000 (2005 est)

natal

²

/ ˈneɪtəl /

adjective

1. of or relating to birth

2. a rare word for native

   natal instincts

natal

³

/ ˈneɪtəl /

adjective

1. anatomy of or relating to the buttocks

Other Word Forms

• Natalian adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of natal¹

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, from Latin nātālis “of or relating to birth,” from nāt(us) “an offspring” (variant of gnātus “born,” past participle of nāscī “to be born”) + -ālis -al ¹; nascent ( def. )

Word History and Origins

Origin of natal¹

C14: from Latin nātālis of one's birth, from nātus, from nascī to be born

Origin of natal²

from New Latin nates buttocks

Example Sentences

Steelheads migrate to the ocean and return to their natal streams to spawn, while rainbows spend their lives in freshwater.

From Los Angeles Times

Scripture and natal charts existed in tandem, along with palm-reading diagrams, recipes for potions and instructions for alchemical reactions.

From Los Angeles Times

Steelhead migrate to the ocean and return to natal freshwater streams to spawn, a cycle that can be impeded by dams and other man-made barriers.

From Los Angeles Times

Silvery steelhead migrate to the ocean and return to natal freshwater streams to spawn, a cycle that can be impeded by dams and concrete channels.

From Los Angeles Times

Testosterone levels must be "within natal female range... for an appropriate length of time so as to minimise any potential advantage", and hormone treatment must be verified annually.

From BBC

Related Words

• common 
• essential 
• innate 
• instinctive 
• legitimate 
• logical 
• ordinary 
• reasonable 
• usual