natal

adjective

na·​tal ˈnā-tᵊl 

1

: native

2

: of, relating to, or present at birth

especially : associated with one's birth

a natal star

Examples of natal in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The jets occur when a star first bursts through its natal envelope of cosmic dust, shooting out a pair of opposing jets into space. —Julia Musto, Fox News, 12 July 2023

Your natal Saturn speaks to your level of discipline, responsibility, and maturity. —Emily Newhouse, Allure, 15 June 2023

The larvae metamorphose into juvenile salamanders about 2 inches long, and leave their natal pools in June and July. —Don Lyman, BostonGlobe.com, 20 Apr. 2023

Though wild salmon are known for their homing instincts, not all return to their natal streams. —Lesley Evans Ogden, Discover Magazine, 7 Apr. 2023

Her natal town was Eatonton, Georgia, a place that still exists, the birthplace of Joel Chandler Harris and Alice Walker, as well as other storytellers whose names are remembered only by the land. —Honorée Fanonne Jeffers, Harper's Magazine, 21 Aug. 2022

Salmon that leave their natal stream just months after hatching can return after years in the ocean, sometimes traversing nine hundred miles and gaining seven thousand feet in elevation to do so. —Kathryn Schulz, The New Yorker, 29 Mar. 2021

An anadromous fish, it is born in fresh water, spends its adulthood in salt water and returns to its natal rivers to spawn. —Andrew S. Lewis, New York Times, 2 Feb. 2023

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Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Latin natalis, from natus, past participle of nasci to be born — more at nation

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing natal

• natal chart

• natal chart

Kids Definition

natal

adjective

na·​tal ˈnāt-ᵊl 

: of or relating to birth

Medical Definition

natal

adjective

na·​tal ˈnāt-ᵊl 

: of or relating to birth

lowering the natal death rate

—Journal of the American Medical Association

Geographical Definition

Natal

geographical name

Na·​tal nə-ˈtal 

-ˈtäl

1

city and port on the Atlantic in northeastern Brazil population 803,739

Note: Natal serves as capital of the state of Rio Grande do Norte.

2

former province of the eastern part of the Republic of South Africa between the Drakensberg Mountains and the Indian Ocean

Note: Natal is now part of the province of KwaZulu-Natal.