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Natal

//ˈneɪtəl// adj, name

Definitions

Adjective
  1. 1
    Of or relating to birth.

    "Sea turtles return to their natal beaches to nest."

  2. 2
    Of or relating to the buttocks.
Adjective
  1. 1
    relating to or accompanying birth wordnet
  2. 2
    of or relating to the buttocks wordnet
Proper Noun
  1. 1
    A former British colony in modern South Africa, existing from 1843 to 1910.
  2. 2
    A former province of South Africa, reorganized in 1994 into the modern province of KwaZulu-Natal.
  3. 3
    A municipality, the state capital of Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil.

Etymology

Etymology 1

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *ǵenh₁- Proto-Indo-European *-tós Proto-Indo-European *ǵn̥h₁tós Proto-Italic *gnātos Latin gnātus Latin nātus Proto-Italic *-ālis Latin -ālis Latin nātālisbor. Middle English natal English natal From Middle English natal, natale (“native, one’s own; inherited; presiding over birthdays or births”), from Classical Latin nātālis (“natal”), from nātus, perfect active participle of nāscor (“I am born”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ǵenh₁-. Doublet of Natal and Noel.

Etymology 2

From Classical Latin natis (“rump”) + -al.

Etymology 3

From Portuguese Natal (“Christmas”), because the region in South Africa was discovered by the Portuguese navigator Vasco da Gama on Christmas Day, 1497. Doublet of natal and Noel.

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