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Na·tal

(nə-tăl, -täl)

1. A region of southeast Africa on the Indian Ocean. Originally home to Zulus and other Bantu peoples, the region was sighted by Vasco da Gama in 1497 and settled by British traders in 1823 and by the Boers after 1836. Annexed by the British to Cape Colony in 1843, Natal became a separate colony after 1856 and a founding province of South Africa in 1910.

2. A city of northeast Brazil on the Atlantic Ocean north of Recife. Founded in the late 1590s, it grew rapidly in World War II as a base for flights connecting with Africa.

na·tal

(nātl)

adj.

1. Of, relating to, or accompanying birth: natal injuries.

2. Of or associated with the time or place of one's birth: a natal star.

[Middle English, from Latin nātālis, from nātus, past participle of nāscī, to be born; see genə- in the Appendix of Indo-European roots.]

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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