prenatal

Where does the word "prenatal" come from? It comes from Latin prae, and was adopted directly into English (1826).

Prenatal’s story begins in Latin: prae meant “before.” Before, combined with natalis (of birth, from nasci, to be born). It reached English by 1826 as prenatal. Formed from Latin prae- (before) and natalis (of birth) for the period before birth. Today, prenatal means occurring or existing before birth.

1. Stage 1 · Latin · ancient prae "before", before, combined with natalis (of birth, from nasci, to be born).
2. Stage 2 · English · 1826 prenatal "existing or occurring before birth", formed from Latin prae- (before) and natalis (of birth) for the period before birth.