English
national
National comes from Middle French national.
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600national
- Englishearliest quotation 1791national
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Lineage
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600national
- Englishearliest quotation 1791national
Earliest quotation: 1791, James Boswell, Life of Johnson: “‘Come, come, don't deny it: they are really national.…”
Formed from nation + -al
Every English word from Middle French national
Today it means
adj Pertaining to a nation or country, especially as a whole; affecting, shared by, or existing throughout all of a nation; the state.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Middle French national / national