- native (adj.)
- late 14c., from O.Fr. natif (fem. native), from L. nativus "innate, produced by birth," from natus, pp. of nasci (Old L. gnasci) "be born," related to gignere "beget," from PIE base *gen-/*gn- "produce" (see genus). The noun is mid-15c., originally meaning "person born in bondage," later (1530s) "person who has always lived in a place." Applied from 1650s to original inhabitants of non-European nations where Europeans hold political power; hence, used contemptuously of "the locals" from 1800.