Etymology The adjective is first attested in the 1420s, the verb in 1602; from Middle English innat(e) (“innate, inborn”), borrowed from Latin innātus (“inborn, innate”) (see -ate (adjective-forming suffix)), perfect active participle of innāscor (“to be born in, grow up in”), from in- (“in, at on”) + nāscor (“to be born”); see natal, native. The verb is derived from the adjective, see -ate (verb-forming suffix).
1
Inborn; existing or having existed since birth.
Ironically, given France's innate reluctance to permit competition at home, the first breach in Renfe's monopoly came from SNCF offshoot Ouigo España in 2021.2023 July 26, Ben Jones, “EU open access growth offers pointers for UK hopefuls”, in RAIL, number 988, page 32:
2
Human sciences, Philosophy, Sciences Originating in, or derived from, the constitution of the intellect, as opposed to acquired from experience.
innate ideas
There is an innate light in every man, discovering to him the first lines of duty, in the common notions of good and evil, which, by cultivation and improvement, may be advanced to higher and brighter discoveries.1691 November 1, Robert South, “An Account of the Nature and Measures of Conscience”, in Sermons Preached upon Several Occasions, volume II, Oxford: UP, published 1842, page 29:
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It would be ſufficient to convince unprejudiced Readers of the falſeneſs of this Suppoſition, if I ſhould only ſhew (as I hope I ſhall in the following Parts of this Diſcourſe) how Men barely by the Uſe of their natural Faculties, may attain to all the Knowledge that they have, without the help of any innate Impreſſions[…]1690, John Locke, “No innate Principles in the Mind”, in An Essay Concerning Human Understanding, book I, page 4:
3
Instinctive; coming from instinct.
Perhaps, from an innate desire of justification, sorrow always exaggerates itself.1831, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], chapter IX, in Romance and Reality. […], volume III, London: Henry Colburn and Richard Bentley, […], →OCLC, page 198:
As if she held the clue to something secret in his breast, of the nature of which he was hardly informed himself. As if she had an innate knowledge of one jarring and discordant string within him, and her very breath could sound it.1846 October 1 – 1848 April 1, Charles Dickens, chapter 3, in Dombey and Son, London: Bradbury and Evans, […], published 1848, →OCLC:
4
Biology, Botany, Natural sciences Joined by the base to the very tip of a filament.
Etymology The adjective is first attested in the 1420s, the verb in 1602; from Middle English innat(e) (“innate, inborn”), borrowed from Latin innātus (“inborn, innate”) (see -ate (adjective-forming suffix)), perfect active participle of innāscor (“to be born in, grow up in”), from in- (“in, at on”) + nāscor (“to be born”); see natal, native. The verb is derived from the adjective, see -ate (verb-forming suffix).
I never ſaw a foole leane : the chub-fac’d fop / Shines ſleek with full cramm’d fat of happineſſe, / VVhilſt ſtudious contemplation ſucks the juice / From wiſards cheekes : who making curious ſearch / For Natures ſecrets, the firſt innating cauſe / Laughs them to ſcorne, as man doth buſy Apes / VVhen they will zany men.1601, John Marston, “Antonio’s Revenge”, in Tragedies and Comedies Collected into One Volume, London: A.M., published 1633, [Act IIII, scene i]:
[…]but the innating matter works not upon the dull matter, as upon a new material, for the innate matter is mixt with the dull part of matter[…]1655, Margaret Cavendish, Duchess of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, “Of the dull and innated matter”, in The Philosophical and Physical Opinions, London: J. Martin and J. Allestrye, page 46:
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Here you may behold how each County is innated with a particular Genius, inclining the Natives thereof to be dextrous, ſome in one profeſſion, ſome in another[…]a. 1661, Thomas Fuller, chapter XIX, in Anglorum Speculum, or The Worthies of England, London: John Wright, Thomas Passinger, and William Thackary, published 1684, page 20: