Word of the Day

: October 25, 2009

natant

adjective NAY-tunt

What It Means

: swimming or floating in water

natant in Context

"Before me natant birds hunker against the teeth of a northerly breeze." (Kevin J. Cook, Fort Collins Coloradoan, November 29, 2002)

Did You Know?

"Natant" and the smattering of other words birthed in the waters of Latin "natare," meaning "to swim," sound unnecessarily formal in most contexts. We could say "The natant athletes who've done their time at the local natatorium are easily distinguished by their natatorial skills; their natation is markedly better than that of those who have practiced less." Most of us, however, would prefer "The swimmers who've done their time at the local indoor swimming pool are easily distinguished by their swimming skills; their swimming is markedly better than that of those who have practiced less." The common German-derived word "swimming" suits most of us just fine. Science, though, often prefers Latin, which is why you're most likely to encounter "natare" words in scientific contexts.