Prenatal
/ˌpriːˈneɪ.təl/noun
Relating to the period before birth.
Did you know?Prenatal is a transparent Latin compound, but its roots go back to a time when language itself was used to mark thresholds—what comes before birth, before life as we know it.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*gene-
“to give birth, beget, be born”
Latin
Latin
nātālis
“of birth, relating to birth”
Latin
Latin
prae- + nātālis
“before birth; prior to birth”
Late Latin
Latin
prenatālis
“before birth”
Middle English
English
prenatal
“before birth; relating to the period before birth”
Modern English
English
prenatal
“relating to the period before birth”