nature

See also Nature

English

Wikipedia Wikipedia

Alternative forms

Etymology

From Middle English natur, nature, from Old French nature, from Latin natura (“birth, origin, natural constitution or quality”), future participle from perfect passive participle (g)natus (born), from deponent verb (g)nasci (“to be born, originate”) + future participle suffix -urus. Replaced native Middle English cunde, icunde (“nature, property, type, genus, character”) (from Old English ġecynd), Middle English lund (“nature, disposition”) (from Old Norse lund), Middle English burthe (“nature, birth, nation”) (from Old English ġebyrd and Old Norse *byrðr). More at kind.

Pronunciation

Noun

nature (countable and uncountable; plural natures)

  1. (uncountable) The natural world; consisting of all things unaffected by or predating human technology, production and design. e.g. the ecosystem, the natural environment, virgin ground, unmodified species, laws of nature.
    • 1891, Oscar Wilde, The Decay of Lying
      Nature has good intentions, of course, but, as Aristotle once said, she cannot carry them out. When I look at a landscape I cannot help seeing all its defects. It is fortunate for us, however, that Nature is so imperfect, as otherwise we should have no art at all. Art is our spirited protest, our gallant attempt to teach Nature her proper place. As for the infinite variety of Nature, that is a pure myth. It is not to be found in Nature herself. It resides in the imagination, or fancy, or cultivated blindness of the man who looks at her.
  2. The innate characteristics of a thing. What something will tend by its own constitution, to be or do. Distinct from what might be expected or intended.
    • 1920, Herman Cyril McNeile, Bulldog Drummond Chapter 1
      Being by nature of a cheerful disposition, the symptom did not surprise his servant, late private of the same famous regiment, who was laying breakfast in an adjoining room.
    • 1869, Horatio Alger, Mark the Match Boy Chapter 16
      Mark hardly knew whether to believe this or not. He already began to suspect that Roswell was something of a humbug, and though it was not in his nature to form a causeless dislike, he certainly did not feel disposed to like Roswell.
  3. The summary of everything that has to do with biological, chemical and physical states and events in the physical universe.
    • 2012 January 1, Robert M. Pringle, “How to Be Manipulative”, American Scientist, volume 100, number 1, page 31: 
      As in much of biology, the most satisfying truths in ecology derive from manipulative experimentation. Tinker with nature and quantify how it responds.

Derived terms

Terms derived from nature

Look at pages starting with nature.

Related terms

Terms etymologically related to nature

Translations

essential characteristics
primitive state of being
everything related to biological and geographical states
environment
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Verb

nature (third-person singular simple present natures, present participle naturing, simple past and past participle natured)

  1. (obsolete) To endow with natural qualities.

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Anagrams

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Esperanto

Adverb

nature

  1. naturally
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French

Pronunciation

Noun

nature f (plural natures)

  1. nature

Derived terms

Adjective

une brioche nature

nature (masculine and feminine, plural natures)

  1. plain, unseasoned
    Une brioche nature ou sucrée ?
    File-moi un yaourt nature s’il te plait.
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Italian

Noun

nature f

  1. Plural form of natura

Adjective

nature (invariable)

  1. natural

Anagrams

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Latin

Participle

nātūre

  1. vocative masculine singular of naturus
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Middle French

Noun

nature f (plural natures)

  1. nature
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Novial

Noun

nature

  1. nature
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Last modified on 21 May 2013, at 18:42