antenatal

C2+ Topic:Describing Qualities

US /ˌæntiˈneɪtəl/ UK /ˌæntiˈneɪtəl/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

adj
occurring or existing before birth; prenatal

She attended antenatal classes throughout her pregnancy.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 adj · occurring or existing... prenatalantepartum

Opposites

postnatalpostpartum

Word family

Related forms natal prenatal nativity

Simplified etymology

Antenatal is recorded from the late 18th century and contains Latin ante, meaning “before.”

Etymology

A 19th-century formation from Latin ante- ('before') + nātālis ('of birth'), from nātus, past participle of nāscī ('to be born').

ante Old French nāscī Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Describing Qualities Word Formation & Derivatives

External links

# antenatal

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** adj
**IPA (US):** /ˌæntiˈneɪtəl/
**IPA (UK):** /ˌæntiˈneɪtəl/

## Meanings
1. occurring or existing before birth; prenatal

## Examples
- She attended antenatal classes throughout her pregnancy.

## Synonyms
- prenatal
- antepartum

## Antonyms
- postnatal
- postpartum

## Related Forms
- natal
- prenatal
- nativity

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: ante
- Root: nāscī
- Affix: ante- - before

## Etymology
A 19th-century formation from Latin ante- ('before') + nātālis ('of birth'), from nātus, past participle of nāscī ('to be born').

## AI Etymology
Antenatal is a 19th-century formation from Latin ante- ('before') + nātālis ('of birth'), from nātus, past participle of nāscī ('to be born'). Important recorded forms include ante (Latin) and nāscī (Latin). Morphologically, the word is a built form whose named elements carry part of the historical sense. The current sense covers occurring or existing before birth; prenatal. The wider family includes related words such as natal, prenatal, and nativity.

## Topics
- Describing Qualities
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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