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Dictionary


na•tive



Pronunciation: (nā'tiv), [key]
—adj.
1. being the place or environment in which a person was born or a thing came into being: one's native land.
2. belonging to a person by birth or to a thing by nature; inherent: native ability; native grace.
3. belonging by birth to a people regarded as indigenous to a certain place, esp. a preliterate people: Native guides accompanied the expedition through the rain forest.
4. of indigenous origin, growth, or production: native pottery.
5. of, pertaining to, or characteristic of the indigenous inhabitants of a place or country: native customs; native dress.
6. born in a particular place or country: a native New Yorker.
7. of or pertaining to a language acquired by a person before or to the exclusion of any other language: Her native language is Greek.
8. pertaining to or characteristic of a person using his or her native language: a native speaker of English; native command of a language.
9. under the rule of natives: a native government.
10. occupied by natives: the native quarter of Algiers.
11. remaining or growing in a natural state; unadorned or unchanged: the native beauty of a desert island.
12. forming the source or origin of a person or thing: He returned to his native Kansas.
13. originating naturally in a particular country or region, as animals or plants.
14. found in nature rather than produced artificially, as a mineral substance: the difference between native and industrial diamonds.
15. Chem., Mineral.(of metals) occurring in nature pure or uncombined: native copper.
16. belonging to a person as a birthright: to deprive a person of his native rights.
17. Computers.
a. designed for use with a specific type of computer: writing native applications for 32-bit PCs.
b. internal to a specific application program: to view the file in its native format.
18. Archaic.closely related, as by birth.
19. go native, Informal.to adopt or affect the manners or way of life of a place or environment that is different from one's own, esp. a less developed country: After living on the island for a year, we went native and began to wear the local costume.

—n.
1. one of the people indigenous to a place or country, esp. as distinguished from strangers, foreigners, colonizers, etc.: the natives of Chile.
2. a person born in a particular place or country: a native of Ohio.
3. an organism indigenous to a particular region.
4. Brit.an oyster reared in British waters, esp. in an artificial bed.
5. Astrol.a person born under a particular planet.

Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.

nationwidenative American
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