Nascent descends from the Latin verb nasci, meaning “to be born,” as does many an English word, from nation and nature to innate and renaissance. But rather than describing the birth of literal babies—as in pups, kits, hoglets, et al.—nascent is applied to things (such as careers or technologies) that have recently formed or come into existence, as when scholar Danille K. Taylor-Guthrie wrote of Toni Morrison being “an integral part of a nascent group of black women writers who would alter the course of African American, American, and world literature.”
In the mid-'60s, Toronto was home to Yorkville, a gathering spot for draft resisters, a petri dish for a nascent coffeehouse and rock scene similar to the one developing in New York's Greenwich Village.—Mike Sager, Rolling Stone, 27 June 1996It was almost 80 years ago that the Wright brothers from Ohio ventured to Kitty Hawk for the uplift its steady winds offered their nascent passion, airplanes.—Robert R. Yandle, Popular Photography, March 1993A few centuries late, when the nascent science of geology was gathering evidence for the earth's enormous antiquity, some advocates of biblical literalism revived this old argument for our entire planet.—Stephen Jay Gould, Granta 16, Summer 1985
The actress is now focusing on her nascent singing career.
one of the leading figures in the nascent civil-rights movement
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Ten years back, poor internet access, nascent digital payments, and underdeveloped road infrastructure restricted e‑commerce in smaller cities.—Priyanka Salve, CNBC, 16 Apr. 2026 That summer, Gordy purchased a two-story West Grand Boulevard house to serve as a home for his young family while doubling as an office and recording studio for his nascent company.—Brian McCollum, USA Today, 15 Apr. 2026 The drama will be backed by production financing from Calculus Media, with international sales and distribution handled by nascent sales house High Road Entertainment, run by James Durie and Richard Tulk-Hart.—Max Goldbart, Deadline, 13 Apr. 2026 Pop is a Coachella vet, having first played solo in 2001 during the then nascent fest’s second installment.—Althea Legaspi, Rolling Stone, 13 Apr. 2026 See All Example Sentences for nascent
Word History
Etymology
Latin nascent-, nascens, present participle of nasci to be born — more at nation