nascent
/ˈneɪ.sənt/ adjective
- adjective Emerging; just coming into existence.
- adjective Describing the state, aspect, or practice of an abstract concept.
- adjective (chemistry) Of the state of an element at the time it is being generated from some compound or transitioning from one state to another; Newly released from a compound (especially hydrogen and oxygen) by a chemical reaction or electrolysis and possessing heightened reactivity; Newly synthesized (especially protein or RNA) by translation or transcription.
- adjective (heraldry) Naissant.
- adjective (mathematics, obsolete) Describing a quantity of object that is starting to grow from zero or an infinitesimal beginning. Also the creation or identification of an infinitesimal delta.
Synonyms
emergent emerging immature inchoate incipient infant in statu nascendi
Antonyms
Etymology
Borrowed from Latin nāscēns, nāscentis, present participle of nāscor (“to be born”). Doublet of naissant.
Webster’s 1913
- adjective Commencing, or in process of development; beginning to exist or to grow; coming into being; as, a nascent germ.
- adjective Evolving; being evolved or produced. Nascent state (Chem.), the supposed instantaneous or momentary state of an uncombined atom or radical just separated from one compound acid, and not yet united with another, --a hypothetical condition implying peculiarly active chemical properties; as, hydrogen in the nascent state is a strong reducer.
Etymology [L. nascens, -entis, p.pr. nasci to be born. See Nation, and cf. Naissant.]
Sources: Wiktionary · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “nascent”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details