[Elamur Dictionary](https://md.dictionary.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://dictionary.elamur.ai/free/en/english/natal/)

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# natal

adjective; Natal (a name of a place)

«natal» in the English dictionary: everyday — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova.

## Everyday

1. (formal, science) To do with being born or with the time of birth: «natal day», «natal home». [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/N/natal/#m1)
2. Natal: the old name of a province of South Africa (now KwaZulu-Natal), and a city in Brazil (a name). [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/N/natal/#m2)

### In the lessons

Mostly a science and formal word. In biology, «natal stream» is the river where a salmon hatched and returns to lay eggs; «natal» also appears in longer words: prenatal (before birth), postnatal (after birth), neonatal (newborn). It tells the reader the topic is birth.

### Examples

- Salmon swim back to their natal river to lay their eggs. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/N/natal/#x1)
- Turtles return to their natal beach years later. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/N/natal/#x2)
- A neonatal unit looks after newborn babies in hospital. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/N/natal/#x3)
- Mum went to prenatal classes before my sister was born. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/N/natal/#x4)
- Natal Day is a holiday in some places, celebrating the founding of the town. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/N/natal/#x5)
- Durban is a city in KwaZulu-Natal. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/N/natal/#x6)

### Note

Rare on its own; much more common inside prenatal, postnatal, neonatal and antenatal (UK: antenatal classes). Do not confuse with «nasal» (to do with the nose) or «naval» (to do with the navy).

## On Mova

- [Trees and pragmatics of «natal» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/N/natal/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«natal» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/natal.html) on Mova free.