natal

/ˈneɪtl/ (bre, ipa) · [nˈetəl] /ˈneɪtl/ (ame, ipa) · [nˈetəl] /ˈnā-tᵊl/ (ame, mw)

natal — adjective

  • natalpositive
  • more natalcomparative
  • most natalsuperlative

1. describing the village, town, country or region in which someone (or an animal)

1.形容詞C2
釋義

describing the village, town, country or region in which someone (or an animal) first came into the world, usually carrying a lasting emotional or biological tie to that spot.

例句

Sivan returned to her natal village after living in Tel Aviv for twenty years.

natal + village (place of origin)

The salmon swim hundreds of kilometres back to their natal stream to lay eggs.

natal + stream (animal place of birth)

同義詞
  • native

    more common everyday word; 'native country', 'native village' are much more usual than 'natal' versions

  • ancestral

    implies family roots over many generations, not just the person's own birth

  • birth

    used as a noun modifier — 'birth town', 'birth country' — plainer than 'natal'

反義詞
  • adopted

    describes a place someone has moved to and chosen to call home, e.g. 'her adopted country'

文法句型

natal + noun (city/country/village/region)

用法筆記

Almost always used before a noun (attributive); rarely placed after 'be'. Suggests a strong emotional or biological tie to the birthplace, not just the bare fact of where someone was born.

常見錯誤

❌Her hometown is natal.
✅This is her natal town.
💡'natal' goes before the noun, not after 'be'.
❌I miss my natal food.
✅I miss the food from my natal village.
💡'natal' describes places, not objects or food.

2. connected with the event of being born — the time around delivery, the medical c

2.形容詞C2
釋義

connected with the event of being born — the time around delivery, the medical care given then, or things present in a baby at that moment.

例句

The hospital offers free natal care to families who cannot afford a private midwife.

natal care (medical use)

Christopher works as a nurse on the natal ward at St Vincent's Hospital.

natal ward (place where babies are delivered)

同義詞
  • perinatal

    technical medical term covering the time just before and after birth

  • obstetric

    more clinical; refers to the medical specialty of pregnancy and delivery

文法句型

natal + noun (care/clinic/ward/period)

用法筆記

Distinguish from sense 1: this sense is medical and points to the moment of birth itself, while sense 1 points to the place. The compound forms 'prenatal' (before birth) and 'postnatal' (after birth) come from this sense.

常見錯誤

❌She had a natal baby last week.
✅She had a healthy newborn baby last week.
💡'natal' describes care, weight, or events around birth, not the baby itself.