enate

[ ee-neyt ]

noun

1. a person related on one's mother's side. Compare agnate, cognate.

adjective

1. Also e·nat·ic [] related on one's mother's side.

enate

/ ˈiːneɪt /

adjective

1. biology growing out or outwards
2. related on the side of the mother

noun

1. a relative on the mother's side

Word History and Origins

Origin of enate¹

< Latin ēnātus, past participle of ēnāscī to issue forth, be born

Word History and Origins

Origin of enate¹

C17: from Latin ēnātus, from ēnāscī to be born from, from nāscī to be born

More About Enate

What does enate mean?

An enate is any relative from your mother’s side of the family, as in When researching her family, Zelda focused on her enates since no one had studied her mother’s family yet. 

An enate is any person or relative that is related to you through your mother. This would include your mother’s parents (your grandparents), her siblings (your aunts and uncles), and their children (your cousins), as well as any more distant relatives. Your enate relatives do not have to be female themselves. They are enatic because the relationship is through your mother.

Enate is used in discussions of human and animal genetics and breeding practices. It’s normally used in direct comparisons with agnates, relatives from the father’s side, and cognates, relatives through either parent. 

Enate can also be used to describe something as growing out or outwards. In this sense, enate is normally used in discussions of physiology and cell growth and will usually be used in reference to bone structure and development. It is also sometimes used in discussions of botany to discuss such growths in plants.

Enate is sometimes mistakenly used for the similar-sounding and similarly spelled word innate.

Example: In our research, the first enate showed no sign of genetic change.

Where does enate come from?

The first records of the term enate come from the 1600s. It comes from the Latin ēnāscī, meaning “to be born from.” An enate is a relative “born from” your mother’s family.

Did you know ... ?

What are some other forms related to enate?

• enatic (adjective)

What are some words that share a root or word element with enate? 

• enation

What are some words that often get used in discussing enate?

• biology
• genetics
• mother
• relative

What are some words enate may be commonly confused with?

• innate

How is enate used in real life?

Enate is mostly used in a formal or scientific context. Most specialized meanings for enate relate to genetics or biology.

Happy Mother's Day…..My Bacronym for MOTHER…. Matriarch Openly Treasuring Her Enate Raison d’être

— Sam_I_Am (@Sbwan) May 9, 2010

My second cousin was an enate from mother's side of the family. #15tt #LinguaLatina [ from Latin past participle of Enascor ~asci ~atus ]

— Lorcan Despanais (@Lorcdy) February 9, 2013

Also missing: ENATE (related on the mother’s side) https://t.co/OI2vOaxY8M

— Nancy Friedman 🦗 (@Fritinancy) October 14, 2021

 

 

Try using enate!

Is enate used correctly in the following sentence?

“Kaamil has an enate ability to entertain the room.”