Dictionary

native soil en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• (Australia) audio

Meanings

1. (as pertaining to persons, idiomatic) The country or geographical region where one was born or which one considers to be one's true homeland.
   • [T]hey were peculiarly honored by the unexpected presence in their midst "of that famous son of the South, Colonel Starbottle," who had lately returned to his native soil from his adopted home in California. 1892, Bret Harte, “Colonel Starbottle's Client”, in Colonel Starbottle's Client and Other Stories:
   • "Look back, Peter," he said, "and you can get your last glimpse of your native soil. The black line that just shows under the sky is Sandy Hook." 1919, Joseph A. Altsheler, chapter 4, in The Sun Of Quebec:
   • Nawaz Sharif, two-time Prime Minister of Pakistan, had planned a triumphant return to his native soil nearly seven years after choosing exile. 2007 September 10, Aryn Baker, “A Musharraf Foe's Aborted Return”, in Time:
2. (as pertaining to animals, idiomatic, qualifier:plants; things; ideas; plants; things; ideas, usually) Source, place of origin, principal location, or natural habitat.
   • An innate passion for all that was thus distinguished and exceptional made her revere Hillbridge as the native soil of those intellectual amenities that were of such difficult growth in the thin air of East Onondaigua. 1901, Edith Wharton, “The Recovery”, in Crucial Instances:
   • What a strange idea—what a needless labor—to construct artificial ruins in Rome, the native soil of ruin! 1860, Nathaniel Hawthorne, chapter 8, in The Marble Faun:
   • [B]ut who else from seeing a plant in an herbarium can imagine its appearance when growing in its native soil? 1839, Robert FitzRoy, Phillip Parker King, Charles Darwin, chapter XX, in Narrative of the Surveying Voyages of His Majesty’s Ships Adventure and Beagle, between the Years 1826 and 1836, […], volume (please specify |volume=I to III), London: Henry Colburn, […], →OCLC:

Forms

Synonyms

native ground · native ground (place of origin, natural habitat) · homeland · birthplace · native land

Translations (11)

pam tibuan (homeland) · cs rodná hrouda (homeland) · fr environnement naturel (natural habitat) · fr source première (natural habitat) · ga tír dhúchais (homeland) · tr memleket (homeland) · ta தாய்நாடு (homeland) · ca terrer (homeland) · fr terre natale (homeland) · uk рідна земля (homeland) · grc πάτρᾱ (homeland)