prenatal
Americanadjective
adjective
noun
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Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of prenatal
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Explanation
Use the adjective prenatal to describe something that happens prior to a baby's birth, like a special prenatal yoga class for pregnant women. The word prenatal has been around since the 1830s, mostly as a medical term to describe the state of a pregnant woman or her fetus. The word is made up of pre, "before" in Modern Latin, and natal, which comes from natus, Latin for "to be born." There are prenatal vitamins, prenatal exercise classes, and prenatal checkups — all for women who are expecting babies. Interestingly, an anagram for prenatal is parental.
Vocabulary lists containing prenatal
This Week in Words: Current Events Vocab for October 22–October 28, 2022
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Florida's B.E.S.T. Common Prefixes: pre-
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Everything, Everything
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Prenatal genome editing sits within the broader spectrum of human genome editing, which ranges from germline, where the changes are heritable, to somatic cell, where the patient’s descendants won’t inherit the changes.
From Salon • Aug. 17, 2024
Prenatal exposure to a total of 45 endocrine disruptors was analysed through blood and urine samples collected from the mothers during pregnancy or from the umbilical cord after birth.
From Science Daily • May 23, 2024
Prenatal checkups are essential to avoid pregnancy complications and improve infant health.
From Seattle Times • Feb. 27, 2023
Prenatal giraffes have a relatively short neck, which is thought to protect them from injury during birth.
From Scientific American • Sep. 29, 2022
Prenatal Influences Apart from Heredity.—In discussing the problems of heredity it is necessary to consider also the possibilities of external influences apart from lineage which may affect offspring through either parent.
From Being Well-Born An Introduction to Eugenics by Guyer, Michael F.
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
