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nascent - 6 dictionary results

nas⋅cent

  [nas-uhnt, ney-suhnt]
Use nascent in a Sentence
–adjective
1. beginning to exist or develop: the nascent republic.
2. Chemistry. (of an element) in the nascent state.
Origin:
1615–25; < L nāscent- (s. of nāscēns), prp. of nāscī to be born, arise, equiv. to nā(tus) born (var. of gnātus) + -sc- inchoative suffix + -ent- -ent

Related forms:
nascence, nas⋅cen⋅cy, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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nas·cent   (nās'ənt, nā'sənt)   
adj.  Coming into existence; emerging: "the moral shock of our nascent imperialism" (Richard Hofstadter).

[Latin nāscēns, nāscent-, present participle of nāscī, to be born; see genə- in Indo-European roots.]
nas'cen·cy n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Nascent

Nas"cent\, a. [L. nascens, -entis, p. pr. nasci to be born. See Nation, and cf. Naissant.]

1. Commencing, or in process of development; beginning to exist or to grow; coming into being; as, a nascent germ.

Nascent passions and anxieties. --Berkley.

2. (Chem.) Evolving; being evolved or produced.

Nascent state (Chem.), the supposed instantaneous or momentary state of an uncombined atom or radical just separated from one compound acid, and not yet united with another, -- a hypothetical condition implying peculiarly active chemical properties; as, hydrogen in the nascent state is a strong reducer.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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nascent 
1624, from L. nascentum (nom. nascens), prp. of nasci "to be born" (see genus).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Main Entry: na·scent
Pronunciation: 'nas-&nt, 'nAs-
Function: adjective
1 : coming or having recently come into existence : beginning to develop nascent ganglion> nascent polypeptide chains>
2 : of, relating to, or beingan atom or substance at the moment of its formation usually with the implication of greater reactivity than otherwise <nascent hydrogen>
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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nascent nas·cent (nās'ənt, nā'sənt)
adj.

  1. Coming into existence; emerging.
  2. Of or relating to the state of a chemical element at the moment it is set free from one of its compounds.
nas'cen·cy n.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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