Natal

See also: natal and nätäl'

English

Etymology

From Portuguese Natal (“Christmas”), because the region in South Africa was discovered by the Portuguese navigator Vasco da Gama on Christmas Day, 1497. Doublet of natal.

Proper noun

Natal

2. A former British colony in modern South Africa, existing from 1843 to 1910.
4. A former province of South Africa, reorganized in 1994 into the modern province of KwaZulu-Natal.
5. A municipality, the state capital of Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil.

Derived terms

• Natal brown

Translations

former British colony

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 納塔爾 / 纳塔尔 (zh)

• Lithuanian: Natalis (lt) m
• Marathi: नाताल (nātāl)
• Portuguese: Natal (pt) m

Further reading

• Natal on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Anagrams

• alant

Indonesian

Alternative forms

• natal

Etymology

From Malay Natal, from Portuguese Natal, from Old Galician-Portuguese Natal, from Latin nātālis [diēs Dominī] (“birthday of the Lord”).

Pronunciation

• (Standard Indonesian) IPA^(key): /ˈnatal/ [ˈna.t̪al]
• Rhymes: -atal
• Syllabification: Na‧tal

Proper noun

Natal

1. (Christianity) Christmas (festival observed on December 25 commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ)

Further reading

• “Natal” in Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia, Jakarta: Agency for Language Development and Cultivation – Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology of the Republic of Indonesia, 2016.

Malay

Etymology

Borrowed from Portuguese Natal (via any dialects in contact with the Portuguese like Ambonese, Ternate etc) or creoles like Kristang, from Old Galician-Portuguese Natal, from Latin nātālis [diēs Dominī] (“birthday of the Lord”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [na.tal]

  • Audio (Malaysia):

    (file)

• Rhymes: -tal, -al
• Hyphenation: Na‧tal

Proper noun

Natal (Jawi spelling ناتل)

1. (Malacca, Indonesia, Christianity) Christmas; a festival/holiday commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ and incorporating various Christian, pre-Christian, pagan and secular customs, which is celebrated on December 25 in most places.

Synonyms

• Krismas (rest of Malaysia, Singapore)

Descendants

• Indonesian: Natal

References

• Wilkinson, Richard James (1932) “natal”, in A Malay-English dictionary (romanised), volume I, Mytilene, Greece: Salavopoulos & Kinderlis, page 167

Further reading

• “Natal” in Pusat Rujukan Persuratan Melayu | Malay Literary Reference Centre, Kuala Lumpur: Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka, 2017.

Old Galician-Portuguese

Etymology

Inherited from Latin nātālis [diēs Dominī] (“birthday of the Lord”).

Noun

Natal m

1. Christmas

Related terms

• irmão (through PIE)
• nacença
• nacer
• nada
• nado
• natura
• natural
• natureza

Descendants

• Galician: Nadal
• Portuguese: Natal (see there for further descendants)

Further reading

• Universo Cantigas - "Natal"

Portuguese

Pronunciation

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /naˈtaw/ [naˈtaʊ̯]

 

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /nɐˈtal/ [nɐˈtaɫ]

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /nɐˈtal/ [nɐˈtaɫ]
  • (Southern Portugal) IPA^(key): /nɐˈta.li/

• Rhymes: (Portugal) -al, (Brazil) -aw
• Homophone: natal
• Hyphenation: Na‧tal

Etymology 1

Inherited from Old Galician-Portuguese Natal, from Latin nātālis [diēs Dominī] (“birthday of the Lord”). Doublet of natal.

Compare Galician Nadal.

Proper noun

Natal m (plural Natais)

1. Christmas (festival observed on December 25 commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ)

Derived terms

• árvore de Natal
• canção de Natal
• cântico de Natal
• cantiga de Natal
• Feliz Natal
• Mãe Natal
• natalino
• Pai Natal

Descendants

• → Gujarati: નાતાલ (nātāl)
• →⇒ Malay: Natal, Hari Natal
  • Indonesian: Natal
• → Konkani: नाताळ (nātāḷ)
• → Marathi: नाताळ (nātāḷ), नाथाळ (nāthāḷ)
• → Sinhalese: නත්තල (nattala)
• → Tetum: Natál
• → Tamil: நத்தார் (nattār)
• → Sindhi:

  Arabic script: ناتالُ (nātālu)

  Devanagari script: नातालु (nātālu)

Etymology 2

From Natal (“Christmas”), because the region in South Africa was discovered by the Portuguese navigator Vasco da Gama on Christmas Day, 1497.

Proper noun

Natal m

1. Natal (a former British colony in modern South Africa, existing from 1843 to 1910)
2. Natal (a former province of South Africa, reorganized in 1994 into the modern province of KwaZulu-Natal)
3. a municipality, the state capital of Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil

Derived terms

• natalense

Descendants

• → English: Natal

Further reading

• “Natal”, in Michaelis Dicionário Brasileiro da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), São Paulo: Editora Melhoramentos, 2015–2025
• “Natal”, in Dicionário infopédia da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Porto: Porto Editora, 2003–2025