Etymograph

English

natal

Natal comes from Classical Latin nātālis, from nāscor ‘to be born’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ǵenh₁- ‘to produce’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ǵenh₁-1‘to produce’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*gnāskōr2reconstructed
  3. Classical Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEnāscor1‘to be born’
  4. Classical Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEnātus1perfect active participle of nāscor
  5. Classical Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEnātālis1
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500natal1‘native, one’s own’
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1987natal1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English natal
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Latin nascor
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1987, Gilles Deleuze, Félix Guattari: “The constituents of the nation are a land and…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ǵenh₁-Wiktionary, English natal‘to produce’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*gnāskōrWiktionary, Latin nascorreconstructed
  3. Classical Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEnāscorWiktionary, English natal‘to be born’
  4. Classical Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEnātusWiktionary, English natalperfect active participle of nāscor
  5. Classical Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEnātālisWiktionary, English natal
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500natalWiktionary, English natal‘native, one’s own’
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1987natalWiktionary, English natal. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1987, Gilles Deleuze, Félix Guattari: “The constituents of the nation are a land and…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *ǵenh₁- ‘to produce’

kind, general, king, german, engine, generation, gender, genuine, gene, nation, genius, oxygen, ken, genre, gentle, indigenous, hydrogen, genocide, genus, kin, ingenious, germ, gentile, genital, gens, puny, glycogen, genteel, gingerly, genitive, jaunty, genial, azadi, nomen, janata, cognate, estrogenic, 103 more

through Classical Latin nāscor ‘to be born’

nature, pregnant, innate, nascent, renate, 9 more

through Classical Latin nātus

natural, native, naive, nee, nada, nativity, 5 more

through Classical Latin nātālis

noel, 2 more

Another origin of natal

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*not-‘rear, buttock’uncertain
  2. Classical Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEnatis‘rump’
  3. Englishtodaynatal

Today it means

adj Of or relating to birth.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “natal”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin nascor. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *ǵenh₁- / natal

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