native language

[ ney-tiv lang-gwij ]

noun

a language that a person acquires fully through extensive exposure in childhood: Many Diné children learn Navajo as a native language.

Origin of native language

First recorded in 1425–75 as natife langage

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

She said someone had already given her the literature in her native language, but Morrison was confident.
Scots Must Choose Heart or Head | Nico Hines | September 18, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
How does literature in your native language differ from English?
Khaled Hosseini: How I Write | Noah Charney | November 7, 2012 | THE DAILY BEAST
“I cannot write my native language and have no native home any more,” Kerouac wrote in 1950.
You Don’t Know Jack: Kerouac Biographer Joyce Johnson and ‘The Voice Is All’ | Lauren Du Graf | September 16, 2012 | THE DAILY BEAST
The Chilean-born man also alleges that he was not allowed to describe the incident in Spanish, his native language.
8 Juiciest Bits From Latest Lawsuit Against John Travolta | Maria Elena Fernandez | June 27, 2012 | THE DAILY BEAST
The clues are in English—Brad and Ken's native language; not Watson's.
Behind the Scenes With the Team That Built Jeopardy's Watson | The Daily Beast | February 23, 2011 | THE DAILY BEAST

He wrote verses with elegance in French, Spanish and Italian, and was a polisher of his native language in a barbarous age.
The Every Day Book of History and Chronology | Joel Munsell
Sin Sin Wa's expression underwent a subtle change at the sound of his native language.
Dope | Sax Rohmer
They then both knelt down in the field, while he lifted up his voice, in his native language, in thanks.
The Indian in his Wigwam | Henry R. Schoolcraft
Then she turned to Miela and poured out a torrent of her native language.
The Fire People | Ray Cummings
Inspector Manvers was colonial born and could speak the native language fluently.
A Frontier Mystery | Bertram Mitford

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