Etymology

innate

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Today it means: Inborn; existing or having existed since birth. Full definition →

Middle English innat(e) ← Latin innātus
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The story

  1. Latin · derived frominnātus“inborn, innate”
  2. Middle English · inherited frominnat(e)“innate, inborn”
  3. English todayinnate

The adjective is first attested in the 1420s, the verb in 1602; from Middle English innat(e) (“innate, inborn”), borrowed from Latin innātus (“inborn, innate”) (see -ate (adjective-forming suffix)), perfect active participle of innāscor (“to be born in, grow up in”), from in- (“in, at on”) + nāscor (“to be born”); see natal, native. The verb is derived from the adjective, see -ate (verb-forming suffix).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.