innatus

Innatus is a Latin adjective meaning inborn or innate. In classical texts, it describes traits believed to be inherent by birth rather than acquired through experience or cultivation. The form comes from in- “in” plus natus “born.” The English cognate is innate, which derives from innatus through Old French and medieval Latin; the Latin word itself is often found in scholarly editions of classical authors and in philological discussions of innateness.

In English-language scholarship innatus is rarely used as a stand-alone term; instead innate or innateness is used. When Latin phrases are quoted or translated, innatus may appear in italics or in quotation marks to indicate the original word, e.g., facultas innata would be rendered as “innate faculty” in English.

The concept of innateness is central to debates in philosophy of mind, biology, and linguistics, concerned with whether certain abilities or knowledge are present from birth. See also: innate, innateness, inborn, Latin.