nascent

adjective

na·scent | \ ˈna-sᵊnt

, ˈnā-

Definition of nascent

: coming or having recently come into existence a nascent middle class her nascent singing career

Synonyms & Antonyms The Origin of Nascent More Example Sentences Learn More about nascent

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The Origin of Nascent

Nascent comes from "nascens," the present participle of the Latin verb nasci, which means "to be born." It is a relative newcomer to the collection of English words that derive from that Latin verb. In fact, when the word nascent was itself a newborn, in the first quarter of the 17th century, other "nasci" offspring were already respectably mature. "Nation," "native," and "nature" had been around since the 1300s; "innate" and "natal," since the 1400s. More recently, we picked up some French descendants of "nasci": "née" in the 1700s and "Renaissance" in the 1800s. Our newest "nasci" word? It may well be "perinatology," which was first used in the late 1960s to name the specialized branch of medicine concerned with childbirth.

Examples of nascent in a Sentence

In the mid-'60s, Toronto was home to Yorkville, a gathering spot for draft resisters, a petri dish for a nascent coffeehouse and rock scene similar to the one developing in New York's Greenwich Village. — Mike Sager, Rolling Stone, 27 June 1996 It was almost 80 years ago that the Wright brothers from Ohio ventured to Kitty Hawk for the uplift its steady winds offered their nascent passion, airplanes. — Robert R. Yandle, Popular Photography, March 1993 A few centuries late, when the nascent science of geology was gathering evidence for the earth's enormous antiquity, some advocates of biblical literalism revived this old argument for our entire planet. — Stephen Jay Gould, Granta 16, Summer 1985 The actress is now focusing on her nascent singing career. one of the leading figures in the nascent civil-rights movement

Recent Examples on the Web

The latest investigation, which also involved agents from the FBI and IRS, highlighted the potential for abuse in Massachusetts' nascent retail marijuana industry, authorities said Friday. — NBC News, "Mayor charged with taking cash bribes to help pot businesses," 6 Sep. 2019 Ghani won’t yield on holding Afghan presidential elections that are likely to hand him another five-year term, complicating the nascent Oslo talks with the Taliban. — Kimberly Dozier, Time, "Exclusive: Secretary of State Pompeo Declines to Sign Risky Afghan Peace Deal," 4 Sep. 2019 Since the early years of independence in the 1990s, the World Bank has put up more than $2.4 billion to support Georgia’s growth—and its nascent tourism industry. — Natasha Frost, Quartzy, "What’s behind a stratospheric tourism boom in the tiny European nation of Georgia," 31 Aug. 2019 Weeding them in: There is some concern in Illinois that enough isn’t being done to help people with prior marijuana possession offenses start businesses in the state’s nascent recreational weed industry, the Chicago Tribune’s Ally Marotti reports. — cleveland.com, "Midwest states are paying more attention to PFAs in drinking water: The Flyover," 26 Aug. 2019 The nascent public appetite for CBD is still driven by novelty, hype and curiosity, and many vendors, Joel Herrera said, are more concerned about moving quantity than selling a quality product. — Paul Stephen, ExpressNews.com, "San Antonio food pros catch CBD wave for big biz buzz," 24 Aug. 2019 Besides impacting businesses increasingly reliant on online transactions, the internet suspension also devastated the operations of the nascent but rising tech sector popularly known as Sheba Valley. — Abdi Latif Dahir, Quartz Africa, "The numbing experience of living through Africa’s growing internet shutdowns," 24 June 2019 In recent years, the nascent satellite sector and related fields like geospatial data analysis have received hundreds of millions of dollars in private investment, but profitable exits are still few and far between. — Tim Fernholz, Quartz, "Investors lose $24 million in satellite intelligence tie-up gone wrong," 14 June 2019 Biden is vowing to boost existing tax breaks for the nascent carbon-capture sector, though environmentalists dismiss the technology as only a way of extending the life of the fossil-fuel industry. — The Washington Post, The Mercury News, "Biden jumps on the Green New Deal train with climate plan," 4 June 2019

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'nascent.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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More Definitions for nascent

nascent

adjective

English Language Learners Definition of nascent

formal : beginning to exist : recently formed or developed

See the full definition for nascent in the English Language Learners Dictionary

nascent

adjective

na·scent | \ ˈnas-ᵊnt

, ˈnās-

Medical Definition of nascent

1 : coming or having recently come into existence : beginning to develop nascent polypeptide chains

2 : of, relating to, or being an atom or substance at the moment of its formation usually with the implication of greater reactivity than otherwise nascent hydrogen

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nascent

Definition of nascent

Synonyms & Antonyms for nascent

The Origin of Nascent

Examples of nascent in a Sentence

First Known Use of nascent

History and Etymology for nascent

English Language Learners Definition of nascent

Medical Definition of nascent

nascent

Definition of nascent

Synonyms & Antonyms for nascent

The Origin of Nascent

Examples of nascent in a Sentence

First Known Use of nascent

History and Etymology for nascent

English Language Learners Definition of nascent

Medical Definition of nascent

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