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native - 8 dictionary results

na⋅tive

  [ney-tiv]
Use native in a Sentence
–adjective
1. being the place or environment in which a person was born or a thing came into being: one's native land.
2. belonging to a person by birth or to a thing by nature; inherent: native ability; native grace.
3. belonging by birth to a people regarded as indigenous to a certain place, esp. a preliterate people: Native guides accompanied the expedition through the rain forest.
4. of indigenous origin, growth, or production: native pottery.
5. of, pertaining to, or characteristic of the indigenous inhabitants of a place or country: native customs; native dress.
6. born in a particular place or country: a native New Yorker.
7. of or pertaining to a language acquired by a person before or to the exclusion of any other language: Her native language is Greek.
8. pertaining to or characteristic of a person using his or her native language: a native speaker of English; native command of a language.
9. under the rule of natives: a native government.
10. occupied by natives: the native quarter of Algiers.
11. remaining or growing in a natural state; unadorned or unchanged: the native beauty of a desert island.
12. forming the source or origin of a person or thing: He returned to his native Kansas.
13. originating naturally in a particular country or region, as animals or plants.
14. found in nature rather than produced artificially, as a mineral substance: the difference between native and industrial diamonds.
15. Chemistry, Mineralogy. (of metals) occurring in nature pure or uncombined: native copper.
16. belonging to a person as a birthright: to deprive a person of his native rights.
17. Computers.
a. designed for use with a specific type of computer: writing native applications for 32-bit PCs.
b. internal to a specific application program: to view the file in its native format.
18. Archaic. closely related, as by birth.
–noun
19. one of the people indigenous to a place or country, esp. as distinguished from strangers, foreigners, colonizers, etc.: the natives of Chile.
20. a person born in a particular place or country: a native of Ohio.
21. an organism indigenous to a particular region.
22. British. an oyster reared in British waters, esp. in an artificial bed.
23. Astrology. a person born under a particular planet.
—Idiom
24. go native, Informal. to adopt or affect the manners or way of life of a place or environment that is different from one's own, esp. a less developed country: After living on the island for a year, we went native and began to wear the local costume.
Origin:
1325–75; < L nātīvus inborn, natural, equiv. to nāt(us) (ptp. of nāscī to be born) + -īvus -ive; r. ME natif (adj.) < MF < L, as above

Related forms:
na⋅tive⋅ly, adverb
na⋅tive⋅ness, noun

Synonyms:
2. inherited, innate, inbred, congenital. 4. autochthonous, aboriginal. 11. real, genuine, original. 24. aborigine.

Antonyms:
2. acquired. 24. alien
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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na·tive   (nā'tĭv)   
adj.  
  1. Existing in or belonging to one by nature; innate: native ability.
  2. Being such by birth or origin: a native Scot.
  3. Being one's own because of the place or circumstances of one's birth: our native land.
  4. Originating, growing, or produced in a certain place or region; indigenous: a plant native to Asia.
    1. Being a member of the original inhabitants of a particular place.
    2. Of, belonging to, or characteristic of such inhabitants: native dress; the native diet of Polynesia.
  6. Occurring in nature pure or uncombined with other substances: native copper.
  7. Natural; unaffected: native beauty.
  8. Archaic Closely related, as by birth or race.
  9. Biochemistry Of or relating to the naturally occurring conformation of a macromolecule, such as a protein.
n.  
    1. One born in or connected with a place by birth: a native of Scotland now living in the United States.
    2. One of the original inhabitants or lifelong residents of a place.
  2. An animal or plant that originated in a particular place or region.

[Middle English, from Old French natif, from Latin nātīvus, from nātus, past participle of nāscī, to be born; see genə- in Indo-European roots.]
na'tive·ly adv., na'tive·ness n.
Synonyms: These adjectives mean of, belonging to, or connected with a specific place or country by virtue of birth or origin. Native implies birth or origin in the specified place: a native New Yorker; the native North American sugar maple.
Indigenous specifies that something or someone is native rather than coming or being brought in from elsewhere: an indigenous crop; the Ainu, a people indigenous to the northernmost islands of Japan.
Something endemic is prevalent in or peculiar to a particular locality or people: endemic disease.
Autochthonous applies to what is native and unchanged by outside sources: autochthonous folk melodies.
Aboriginal describes what has existed from the beginning; it is often applied to the earliest known inhabitants of a place: the aboriginal population; aboriginal nature. See Also Synonyms at crude.

Usage Note: When used in reference to a member of an indigenous people, the noun native, like its synonym aborigine, can evoke unwelcome stereotypes of primitiveness or cultural backwardness that many people now seek to avoid. As is often the case with words that categorize people, the use of the noun is more problematic than the use of the corresponding adjective. Thus a phrase such as the peoples native to northern Europe or the aboriginal inhabitants of the South Pacific is generally much preferable to the natives of northern Europe or the aborigines of the South Pacific. · Despite its potentially negative connotations, native is enjoying increasing popularity in ethnonyms such as native Australian and Alaska Native, perhaps due to the wide acceptance of Native American as a term of ethnic pride and respect. These compounds have the further benefit of being equally acceptable when used alone as nouns (a native Australian) or in an adjectival construction (a member of a native Australian people). Of terms formed on this model, those referring to peoples indigenous to the United States generally capitalize native, as in Alaska Native (or the less common Native Alaskan) and Native Hawaiian, while others usually style it lowercase.
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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Native

Na"tive\, a. [F. natif, L. nativus, fr. nasci, p. p. natus. See Nation, and cf. Na["i]ve, Nelf a serf.]

1. Arising by birth; having an origin; born. [Obs.]

Anaximander's opinion is, that the gods are native, rising and vanishing again in long periods of times. --Cudworth.

2. Of or pertaining to one's birth; natal; belonging to the place or the circumstances in which one is born; -- opposed to foreign; as, native land, language, color, etc.

3. Born in the region in which one lives; as, a native inhabitant, race; grown or originating in the region where used or sold; not foreign or imported; as, native oysters, or strawberries.

4. Original; constituting the original substance of anything; as, native dust. --Milton.

5. Conferred by birth; derived from origin; born with one; inherent; inborn; not acquired; as, native genius, cheerfulness, simplicity, rights, etc.

Courage is native to you. --Jowett (Thucyd. ).

6. Naturally related; cognate; connected (with). [R.]

the head is not more native to the heart, . . . Than is the throne of Denmark to thy father. --Shak.

7. (Min.) (a) Found in nature uncombined with other elements; as, native silver. (b) Found in nature; not artificial; as native sodium chloride.

Native American party. See under American, a.

Native bear (Zo["o]l.), the koala.

Native bread (Bot.), a large underground fungus, of Australia (Mylitta australis), somewhat resembling a truffle, but much larger.

Native devil. (Zo["o]l.) Same as Tasmanian devil, under Devil.

Native hen (Zo["o]l.), an Australian rail (Tribonyx Mortierii).

Native pheasant. (Zo["o]l.) See Leipoa.

Native rabbit (Zo["o]l.), an Australian marsupial (Perameles lagotis) resembling a rabbit in size and form.

Native sloth (Zo["o]l.), the koala.

Native thrush (Zo["o]l.), an Australian singing bird (Pachycephala olivacea); -- called also thickhead.

Native turkey (Zo["o]l.), the Australian bustard (Choriotis australis); -- called also bebilya.

Syn: Natural; natal; original; congential.

Usage: Native, Natural, Natal. natural refers to the nature of a thing, or that which springs therefrom; native, to one's birth or origin; as, a native country, language, etc.; natal, to the circumstances of one's birth; as, a natal day, or star. Native talent is that which is inborn; natural talent is that which springs from the structure of the mind. Native eloquence is the result of strong innate emotion; natural eloquence is opposed to that which is studied or artifical.

Native

Na"tive\, n. 1. One who, or that which, is born in a place or country referred to; a denizen by birth; an animal, a fruit, or vegetable, produced in a certain region; as, a native of France.

2. (Stock Breeding) Any of the live stock found in a region, as distinguished from such as belong to pure and distinct imported breeds. [U.S.]
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : native
Spanish: natal,
German: Heimat-…,
Japanese: 出生の
More Translations »

native  (adj.)
c.1374, from O.Fr. natif (fem. native), from L. nativus "innate, produced by birth," from natus, pp. of nasci, gnasci "be born," related to gignere "beget," from PIE base *gen-/*gn- "produce" (see genus). The noun is c.1450, originally meaning "person born in bondage," later (1535) "person who has always lived in a place." Applied from 1652 to original inhabitants of non-European nations where Europeans hold political power; hence, used contemptuously of "the locals" from 1800. Nativism as a U.S. anti-immigrant movement is from 1845.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Main Entry: na·tive
Pronunciation: 'nAt-iv
Function: adjective
1 : belonging to or associated with one by birth
2 : living or growing naturally in a particular region
3 a : constituting the original substance or source b : found in nature especially in an unadulterated formnative protein to a denatured protein> —na·tive·ly adverb
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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native na·tive (nā'tĭv)
adj.

  1. Originating, growing, or produced in a certain place or region; indigenous.
  2. Occurring in nature pure or uncombined with other substances.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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native   (nā'tĭv)  Pronunciation Key 
  1. Living or growing naturally in a particular place or region; indigenous.
  2. Occurring in nature on its own, uncombined with other substances. Copper and gold are often found in native form.
  3. Of or relating to the naturally occurring conformation of a macromolecule, such as a protein.

The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
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