the material world, esp. as surrounding humankind and existing independently of human activities.
2.
the natural world as it exists without human beings or civilization.
3.
the elements of the natural world, as mountains, trees, animals, or rivers.
4.
natural scenery.
5.
the universe, with all its phenomena.
6.
the sum total of the forces at work throughout the universe.
7.
reality, as distinguished from any effect of art: a portrait true to nature.
8.
the particular combination of qualities belonging to a person, animal, thing, or class by birth, origin, or constitution; native or inherent character: human nature.
9.
the instincts or inherent tendencies directing conduct: a man of good nature.
10.
character, kind, or sort: two books of the same nature.
11.
characteristic disposition; temperament: a self-willed nature; an evil nature.
12.
the original, natural, uncivilized condition of humankind.
13.
the biological functions or the urges to satisfy their requirements.
14.
a primitive, wild condition; an uncultivated state.
15.
a simple, uncluttered mode of life without the conveniences or distractions of civilization: a return to nature.
16.
(initial capital letter,italics) a prose work (1836), by Ralph Waldo Emerson, expounding transcendentalism.
17.
Theology. the moral state as unaffected by grace.
—Idioms
18.
by nature, as a result of inborn or inherent qualities; innately: She is by nature a kindhearted person.
19.
in a state of nature,
a.
in an uncivilized or uncultured condition.
b.
without clothes; nude; naked.
20.
of or in the nature of, having the character or qualities of: in the nature of an apology.
[Origin: 1200–50; ME natur(e) < OF < L nātūra conditions of birth, quality, character, natural order, world, equiv. to nāt(us) (ptp. of nāscī to be born) + -ūra-ure]
The forces and processes that produce and control all the phenomena of the material world: the laws of nature.
The world of living things and the outdoors: the beauties of nature.
A primitive state of existence, untouched and uninfluenced by civilization or artificiality: couldn't tolerate city life anymore and went back to nature.
Theology Humankind's natural state as distinguished from the state of grace.
A kind or sort: confidences of a personal nature.
The essential characteristics and qualities of a person or thing: "She was only strong and sweet and in her nature when she was really deep in trouble"(Gertrude Stein).
The fundamental character or disposition of a person; temperament: "Strange natures made a brotherhood of ill"(Percy Bysshe Shelley).
The natural or real aspect of a person, place, or thing. See Synonyms at disposition.
The processes and functions of the body.
[Middle English, essential properties of a thing, from Old French, from Latin nātūra, from nātus, past participle of nāscī, to be born; see genə- in Indo-European roots.]
c.1300, "essential qualities, innate disposition," also "creative power in the material world," from O.Fr. nature, from L. natura "course of things, natural character, the universe," lit. "birth," from natus "born," pp. of nasci "to be born," from PIE *gene- "to give birth, beget" (see genus). Original sense is in human nature. Meaning "inherent, dominating power or impulse" of a person or thing is from c.1386. Contrasted with art since 1704. Nature and nurture have been contrasted since 1874.
Nature should be avoided in such vague expressions as 'a lover of nature,' 'poems about nature.' Unless more specific statements follow, the reader cannot tell whether the poems have to do with natural scenery, rural life, the sunset, the untouched wilderness, or the habits of squirrels." [Strunk & White, "The Elements of Style," 3rd ed., 1979]
Naturist "participant in the movement for communal nudity" is from 1929.
the essential qualities or characteristics by which something is recognized; "it is the nature of fire to burn"; "the true nature of jealousy"
2.
a causal agent creating and controlling things in the universe; "the laws of nature"; "nature has seen to it that men are stronger than women"
3.
the natural physical world including plants and animals and landscapes etc.; "they tried to preserve nature as they found it"
4.
the complex of emotional and intellectual attributes that determine a person's characteristic actions and reactions; "it is his nature to help others"
5.
a particular type of thing; "problems of this type are very difficult to solve"; "he's interested in trains and things of that nature"; "matters of a personal nature"
the physical world, eg trees, plants, animals, mountains, rivers etc, or the power which made them Example: the beauty of nature; the forces of nature; the study of nature
Arabic:
الطَّبيعَه
Chinese (Simplified):
自然界，自然力
Chinese (Traditional):
自然界，自然力
Czech:
příroda
Danish:
natur; naturen
Dutch:
natuur
Estonian:
loodus
Finnish:
luonto
French:
nature
German:
die Natur
Greek:
φύση
Hungarian:
természet
Icelandic:
náttúran
Indonesian:
alam
Italian:
natura
Japanese:
自然界
Korean:
자연, 천연
Latvian:
daba
Lithuanian:
gamta
Norwegian:
natur(en)
Polish:
przyroda, natura
Portuguese (Brazil):
natureza
Portuguese (Portugal):
natureza
Romanian:
natură
Russian:
природа
Slovak:
príroda
Slovenian:
narava
Spanish:
naturaleza
Swedish:
natur, naturen
Turkish:
doğa, tabiat
nature2[ˈneitʃə]noun
the qualities born in a person; personality Example: She has a generous nature.
Arabic:
طَبْع، مِزاج
Chinese (Simplified):
本性
Chinese (Traditional):
本性
Czech:
povaha
Danish:
natur; væsen
Dutch:
karakter
Estonian:
loomus
Finnish:
luonne
French:
nature
German:
die Natur
Greek:
φύση, προσωπικότητα (για πρόσωπο)
Hungarian:
természet
Icelandic:
eðli
Indonesian:
kepribadian
Italian:
natura
Japanese:
天性
Korean:
성질, 기질
Latvian:
daba, raksturs
Lithuanian:
natūra, prigimtis
Norwegian:
natur
Polish:
natura
Portuguese (Brazil):
natureza
Portuguese (Portugal):
natureza
Romanian:
fire
Russian:
натура; характер
Slovak:
povaha
Slovenian:
narava
Spanish:
carácter
Swedish:
kynne
Turkish:
yaradılış, tabiat, karakter
nature3[ˈneitʃə]noun
quality; what something is or consists of Example: What is the nature of your work?
Arabic:
طَبيعَة، نَوْعِيَّة
Chinese (Simplified):
性质
Chinese (Traditional):
性質
Czech:
povaha, podstata
Danish:
indhold
Dutch:
aard
Estonian:
olemus
Finnish:
luonne
French:
nature
German:
die Beschaffenheit
Greek:
φύση, ποιότητα
Hungarian:
jelleg
Icelandic:
eðli
Indonesian:
sifat
Italian:
natura
Japanese:
性質
Korean:
특질, 본질
Latvian:
būtība
Lithuanian:
pobūdis
Norwegian:
art, type, beskaffenhet
Polish:
istota
Portuguese (Brazil):
natureza
Portuguese (Portugal):
natureza
Romanian:
natură
Russian:
характер;сущность
Slovak:
podstata
Slovenian:
narava
Spanish:
naturaleza
Swedish:
karaktär, beskaffenhet, typ
Turkish:
özellik, nitelik
nature4[ˈneitʃə]noun
a kind, type etc Example: bankers and other people of that nature
Nat"u*ral\ (?; 135), a. [OE. naturel, F. naturel, fr. L. naturalis, fr. natura. See Nature.]1. Fixed or determined by nature; pertaining to the constitution of a thing; belonging to native character; according to nature; essential; characteristic; not artifical, foreign, assumed, put on, or acquired; as, the natural growth of animals or plants; the natural motion of a gravitating body; natural strength or disposition; the natural heat of the body; natural color. With strong natural sense, and rare force of will. --Macaulay. 2. Conformed to the order, laws, or actual facts, of nature; consonant to the methods of nature; according to the stated course of things, or in accordance with the laws which govern events, feelings, etc.; not exceptional or violent; legitimate; normal; regular; as, the natural consequence of crime; a natural death. What can be more natural than the circumstances in the behavior of those women who had lost their husbands on this fatal day? --Addison. 3. Having to do with existing system to things; dealing with, or derived from, the creation, or the world of matter and mind, as known by man; within the scope of human reason or experience; not supernatural; as, a natural law; natural science; history, theology. I call that natural religion which men might know . . . by the mere principles of reason, improved by consideration and experience, without the help of revelation. --Bp. Wilkins. 4. Conformed to truth or reality; as: (a) Springing from true sentiment; not artifical or exaggerated; -- said of action, delivery, etc.; as, a natural gesture, tone, etc. (b) Resembling the object imitated; true to nature; according to the life; -- said of anything copied or imitated; as, a portrait is natural. 5. Having the character or sentiments properly belonging to one's position; not unnatural in feelings. To leave his wife, to leave his babes, . . . He wants the natural touch. --Shak. 6. Connected by the ties of consanguinity. "Natural friends." --J. H. Newman. 7. Begotten without the sanction of law; born out of wedlock; illegitimate; bastard; as, a natural child. 8. Of or pertaining to the lower or animal nature, as contrasted with the higher or moral powers, or that which is spiritual; being in a state of nature; unregenerate. The natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God. --1 Cor. ii. 14. 9. (Math.) Belonging to, to be taken in, or referred to, some system, in which the base is 1; -- said or certain functions or numbers; as, natural numbers, those commencing at 1; natural sines, cosines, etc., those taken in arcs whose radii are 1. 10. (Mus.) (a) Produced by natural organs, as those of the human throat, in distinction from instrumental music. (b) Of or pertaining to a key which has neither a flat nor a sharp for its signature, as the key of C major. (c) Applied to an air or modulation of harmony which moves by easy and smooth transitions, digressing but little from the original key. --Moore (Encyc. of Music). Natural day, the space of twenty-four hours. --Chaucer. Natural fats, Natural gas, etc. See under Fat, Gas. etc. Natural Harmony (Mus.), the harmony of the triad or common chord. Natural history, in its broadest sense, a history or description of nature as a whole, incuding the sciences of botany, zo["o]logy, geology, mineralogy, paleontology, chemistry, and physics. In recent usage the term is often restricted to the sciences of botany and zo["o]logy collectively, and sometimes to the science of zoology alone. Natural law, that instinctive sense of justice and of right and wrong, which is native in mankind, as distinguished from specifically revealed divine law, and formulated human law. Natural modulation (Mus.), transition from one key to its relative keys. Natural order. (Nat. Hist.) See under order. Natural person. (Law) See under person, n. Natural philosophy, originally, the study of nature in general; in modern usage, that branch of physical science, commonly called physics, which treats of the phenomena and laws of matter and considers those effects only which are unaccompanied by any change of a chemical nature; -- contrasted with mental and moral philosophy. Natural scale (Mus.), a scale which is written without flats or sharps. Model would be a preferable term, as less likely to mislead, the so-called artificial scales (scales represented by the use of flats and sharps) being equally natural with the so-called natural scale Natural science, natural history, in its broadest sense; -- used especially in contradistinction to mental or moral science. Natural selection (Biol.), a supposed operation of natural laws analogous, in its operation and results, to designed selection in breeding plants and animals, and resulting in the survival of the fittest. The theory of natural selection supposes that this has been brought about mainly by gradual changes of environment which have led to corresponding changes of structure, and that those forms which have become so modified as to be best adapted to the changed environment have tended to survive and leave similarly adapted descendants, while those less perfectly adapted have tended to die out though lack of fitness for the environment, thus resulting in the survival of the fittest. See Darwinism. Natural system (Bot. & Zo["o]l.), a classification based upon real affinities, as shown in the structure of all parts of the organisms, and by their embryology. It should be borne in mind that the natural system of botany is natural only in the constitution of its genera, tribes, orders, etc., and in its grand divisions. --Gray. Natural theology, or Natural religion, that part of theological science which treats of those evidences of the existence and attributes of the Supreme Being which are exhibited in nature; -- distinguished from revealed religion. See Quotation under Natural, a., 3. Natural vowel, the vowel sound heard in urn, furl, sir, her, etc.; -- so called as being uttered in the easiest open position of the mouth organs. See Neutral vowel, under Neutral and Guide to Pronunciation, [sect] 17. Syn: See Native.
Na"ture\ (?; 135), n. [F., fr. L. natura, fr. natus born, produced, p. p. of nasci to be born. See Nation.]1. The existing system of things; the world of matter, or of matter and mind; the creation; the universe. But looks through nature up to nature's God. --Pope. Nature has caprices which art can not imitate. --Macaulay. 2. The personified sum and order of causes and effects; the powers which produce existing phenomena, whether in the total or in detail; the agencies which carry on the processes of creation or of being; -- often conceived of as a single and separate entity, embodying the total of all finite agencies and forces as disconnected from a creating or ordering intelligence. I oft admire How Nature, wise and frugal, could commit Such disproportions. --Milton. 3. The established or regular course of things; usual order of events; connection of cause and effect. 4. Conformity to that which is natural, as distinguished from that which is artifical, or forced, or remote from actual experience. One touch of nature makes the whole world kin. --Shak. 5. The sum of qualities and attributes which make a person or thing what it is, as distinct from others; native character; inherent or essential qualities or attributes; peculiar constitution or quality of being. Thou, therefore, whom thou only canst redeem, Their nature also to thy nature join, And be thyself man among men on earth. --Milton. 6. Hence: Kind, sort; character; quality. A dispute of this nature caused mischief. --Dryden. 7. Physical constitution or existence; the vital powers; the natural life. "My days of nature." --Shak. Oppressed nature sleeps. --Shak. 8. Natural affection or reverence. Have we not seen The murdering son ascend his parent's bed, Through violated nature foce his way? --Pope. 9. Constitution or quality of mind or character. A born devil, on whose nature Nurture can never stick. --Shak. That reverence which is due to a superior nature. --Addison. Good nature, Ill nature. see under Good and Ill. In a state of nature. (a) Naked as when born; nude. (b) In a condition of sin; unregenerate. (c) Untamed; uncvilized. Nature printng, a process of printing from metallic or other plates which have received an impression, as by heavy pressure, of an object such as a leaf, lace, or the like. Nature worship, the worship of the personified powers of nature. To pay the debt of nature, to die.
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