Natal

UK: /ˈneɪt^əl/

US: /ˈneɪtəl/

US: 'natal': (nāt′l); 'Natal': (nə tal′, -täl′; for 2 also Port. nə tôl′)

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

Natal noun

1. / nəˈtæl/ a former province of E South Africa, between the Drakensberg and the Indian Ocean: set up as a republic by the Boers in 1838; became a British colony in 1843; joined South Africa in 1910; replaced by KwaZulu-Natal in 1994. Capital: Pietermaritzburg
2. / naˈtal/ a port in NE Brazil, capital of Rio Grande do Norte state, near the mouth of the Potengi River. Pop: 1 049 000 (2005 est)

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026

na•tal /ˈneɪtəl/   adj. 

1. of or relating to birth:
   natal care.

See -nat-.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026

na•tal  (nāt′l), adj. 

1. of or pertaining to a person's birth:
   celebrating one's natal day.
2. presiding over or affecting a person at birth:
   natal influences.
3. (of places) native:
   nostalgia for one's natal town.

• Latin nātālis of, belonging to one's birth, natal, equivalent. to nāt(us) an offspring (variant of gnātus, past participle of nāscī to be born) + -ālis -al¹
• Middle English 1350–1400

Na•tal  (nə tal′, -täl′; for 2 also Port. nə tôl′), n. 

1. Place Names a province in the E part of the Republic of South Africa. 4,236,700;
   35,284 sq. mi. (91,886 sq. km). Cap.: Pietermaritzburg.
2. Place Names a seaport in E Brazil. 250,787.

Na•tal′i•an, adj., n. 

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

natal / ˈneɪt^əl/ adjective

1. of or relating to birth
2. a rare word for native

Etymology: 14th Century: from Latin nātālis of one's birth, from nātus, from nascī to be born