to the manner born

adjective

Familiar or adapted as if from birth with a specified custom, behavior, accouterment, etc.; naturally suited to it.

Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

adjective
  1. Familiar or adapted as if from birth with a specified custom, behavior, accouterment, etc.; naturally suited to it.

    Stephen Ward, a winger converted to emergency left-back two months ago, now looks to the manner born.

    2008 November 10, Jeremy Alexander, The Guardian
    1 more example

    This [...] involved not only wearing certain clothes as if to the manner born, but being familiar with the gestures and the style of conversation associated with such clothes.

    1977, Gāmini Salgādo, The Elizabethan Underworld, Folio Society, published 2006, page 16

Synonyms & antonyms

Also see
congenitalconnateconnaturalinnateintrinsicnaturalunlearned

Origin

Coined by William Shakespeare in 1603 in Hamlet, act 1, scene 4: : But to my mind, though I am native here : And to the manner born, it is a custom : More honored in the breach than the observance.

Full word history & related roots →

Rhymes & wordplay

Sounds the same

to the manor born
Cite this entry
APA

to the manner born. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/to%20the%20manner%20born

MLA

“to the manner born.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/to%20the%20manner%20born. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “to the manner born,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/to%20the%20manner%20born.

Source: to the manner born on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.