From Latin 'nativus' (born, innate), from PIE *genh1- — same root as 'nature,' 'nation,' 'gene,' and 'kin.'
Associated with the place or circumstances of one's birth; a person born in a specified place; innate or inherent.
From Latin 'nātīvus' (born, innate, produced by birth, natural), from 'nātus,' past participle of 'nāscī' (to be born, to come into being), from the PIE root *ǵenh₁- (to give birth, to beget, to produce). This is one of the most productive roots in Indo-European, generating: Latin 'nātūra' (nature), 'nātiō' (birth-group, nation), 'nātālis' (of birth, natal), 'gnārus' (knowing — one born to a skill), and 'genus' (race, kind, family); Greek 'genos' (γένος, race, kind), 'genesis' (γένεσις, origin), and 'gonē' (seed, offspring); Sanskrit 'janas' (people, race); and through Germanic 'kin' (Proto-Germanic *kunją — those of one birth) and 'king' (one born of noble stock). The word entered English through
The word 'naïve' is a doublet of 'native' — both come from Latin 'nātīvus.' French inherited the word twice: once as 'natif' (native) through learned channels, and once as 'naïf/naïve' through popular speech, where it shifted to mean 'natural, unsophisticated, artless.' English borrowed both forms separately.
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