native

English Online Dictionary. What means native‎? What does native mean?

English

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English natif, from Old French natif, from Latin nātīvus, from nātus (“birth”). Doublet of naive and neif.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈneɪtɪv/
• (US)
  • (General American, weak vowel merger) IPA^(key): /ˈneɪtəv/
  • (US, weak vowel distinction) IPA^(key): /ˈneɪtɪv/
• Rhymes: -eɪtɪv
• Hyphenation: na‧tive

Adjective

native (comparative more native, superlative most native)

1. Belonging to one by birth.

2. Characteristic of or relating to people inhabiting a region from prehistoric times.

3. Alternative letter-case form of Native (of or relating to the native inhabitants of the Americas, or of Australia).
4. Born or grown in the region in which it lives or is found; not foreign or imported.

   a native inhabitant

   native oysters or strawberries

5. (biology, of a species) Which occurs of its own accord in a given locality, to be contrasted with a species introduced by humans.

6. (computing, of software) Pertaining to the system or architecture in question.

   cloud native, crypto native

8. (mineralogy) Occurring naturally in its pure or uncombined form.

   native aluminium

   native salt

9. Arising by birth; having an origin; born.

10. Original; constituting the original substance of anything.

    native dust
11. Naturally related; cognate; connected (with).

Synonyms

• (belonging to one by birth): inborn, innate; See also Thesaurus:innate
• (born or grown in the region in which it is found): aboriginal, autochthonous, indigenous; See also Thesaurus:native

Antonyms

• (antonym(s) of “born or grown in the region in which it is found”): foreign, naturalized, fremd; See also Thesaurus:foreign

Derived terms

Translations

Noun

native (plural natives)

1. A person who is native to a place; a person who was born in a place.
2. (in particular) A person of aboriginal descent, as distinguished from a person who was or whose ancestors were foreigners or settlers/colonizers. Alternative letter-case form of Native (aboriginal inhabitant of the Americas or Australia).
3. A native speaker.
4. Ostrea edulis, a kind of oyster.

Usage notes

• In North America, native/Native came into use as an umbrella term for the indigenous inhabitants of America as Indian began to fall out of formal usage (because it originated from Columbus's mistaken belief that he was in India and the people he encountered were Indians). Other designations include Native American, Native Canadian, and American Indian. In Canada, the terms include Inuit and Metis and the adjectives First Nation/First Nations.

Synonyms

• homeling (uncommon, obsolete)

Derived terms

Translations

See also

References

• “native”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.
• native in Keywords for Today: A 21st Century Vocabulary, edited by The Keywords Project, Colin MacCabe, Holly Yanacek, 2018.
• "native" in Raymond Williams, Keywords (revised), 1983, Fontana Press, page 215.
• “native”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.

French

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /na.tiv/
• Homophone: natives

Adjective

native

1. feminine singular of natif

Anagrams

• enviât, vanité, veinât, venait

Italian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /naˈti.ve/
• Rhymes: -ive
• Hyphenation: na‧tì‧ve

Adjective

native

1. feminine plural of nativo

Noun

native f pl

1. plural of nativa

Anagrams

• Aventi, aventi, avinte, evinta, nevati, vanite, venati, viante, vinate

Latin

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): /naːˈtiː.u̯e/, [näːˈt̪iːu̯ɛ]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /naˈti.ve/, [näˈt̪iːve]

Adjective

nātīve

1. vocative masculine singular of nātīvus

Romanian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [naˈti.ve]

Adjective

native

1. feminine/neuter plural nominative/accusative of nativ