natant

American  

[neyt-nt] / ˈneɪt nt /

adjective

1. swimming or floating.

2. Botany. floating on water, as the leaf of an aquatic plant.

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natant British  

/ ˈneɪtənt /

adjective

1. (of aquatic plants) floating on the water

2. rare floating or swimming

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Other Word Forms

• natantly adverb

Etymology

Origin of natant

First recorded in 1450–1500; from Latin natant- stem of natāns, present participle of natāre “to swim”; see -ant

Explanation

Natant is a formal way to describe something or someone that's floating. When you finally learn how to float on your back during a swimming lesson, you can say, "Hey, I'm natant!" You'll nearly always find natant and other words that share the Latin root natare, "to swim," used in a scientific context. A natant decapod, for instance, is a shrimp. You can substitute natant for "swimming" or "floating" in everyday speech, but not many people will understand what you're talking about. But give it a try if you want to sound fancy: "I wish I had a pool, so I could be natant all day long."

Example Sentences

The Latin sentence appears clearly to end with the word natant, as is not only the case in the St. John's MS., mentioned in MR.

From Notes and Queries, Number 16, February 16, 1850 by Various

Then again, beneath the nearer tumult, this natant, ill rhythm died down to a measured, sinister moan, echoing through the stone corridors in soughing jabs, like sounds marking the visitation of some maimed Hydra.

From The Red Debt Echoes from Kentucky by MacDonald, Everett

She stood rigid, listening with a natant, sickening consciousness that something terrible hung at her back.

From The Red Debt Echoes from Kentucky by MacDonald, Everett

Haec inquam animalia in aere volant, in aquis natant, in terra ambulant.

From Balder the Beautiful, Volume I. A Study in Magic and Religion: the Golden Bough, Part VII., The Fire-Festivals of Europe and the Doctrine of the External Soul by Frazer, James George, Sir