Skip to content
ontologydriven
Sign out

Dictionary

Words, grammatical forms and meanings linked to the ontology.

nates en · NOUN

Pronunciation

  • /ˈneɪtiːz/ (UK)
  • (US) audio

Etymology

From Latin natēs, plural of natis.

Meanings

  1. (plural, plural-only) The two anterior of the four lobes on the dorsal side of the midbrain of most mammals; the anterior optic lobes.
  2. (plural, plural-only) The buttocks.
    • He sat cross-legged on a damask pillow and scrutinized the pale puckered nates with the air of an epicure examining a fly in his vichyssoise. 1982, TC Boyle, Water Music, Penguin, published 2006, page 3:
    • Enderby watched her warily as she lay prone, having kicked the clothes off the bed, her nates silvered by the Roman moonlight to the likeness of a meringue. 1963, Anthony Burgess, Inside Mr Enderby:
  3. (plural, plural-only) The umbones of a bivalve shell.