What does the native mean?

Answer 1

"Native" means "being born there" and comes from the Latin word "natus", the same word root that gives us "nativity". Thus to say you are a native of London means you were born there. It is irrelevant where your parents were born.

In the nineteenth century, the colonizing forces of Britain and the United States often created colonial situations where the colonizers needed a word to describe the people whom they had colonized. The word often used for this was "native", as the local population had all been born in the colony whereas the colonizers had not. In keeping with the racial ideas of the day, the word became a racial epithet to describe the various races which had been colonized. As such, "native" became a word which meant "belonging to the race which comes from this place". This meaning became somewhat looser so that it meant someone of a race which comes from a place which was colonized. Thus someone who was Sioux or Kikuyu was likely to be called a "native" even if they were living in London.

Thus, the word has several completely contradictory meanings. When talking about a racial group, it always means the race indigenous to this place, or to a colonial place, or to whatever place is specified. Thus, "The Kikuyu are native" or "The Kikuyu are native to Kenya." When talking about a specific person, saying "He is a native" might mean that his race is from around here, or that his race is from a colonial place. Saying "He is a native of Kenya" more likely means that he was born there but could also be a comment on his race.