nature
Meanings
- The way things are, the totality of all things in the physical universe and their order, especially the physical world in contrast to spiritual realms and flora and fauna as distinct from human conventions, art, and technology.
- The particular way someone or something is, especially
- The essential or innate characteristics of a person or thing which will always tend to manifest, especially in contrast to specific contexts, reason, religious duty, upbringing, and personal pretense or effort.
- The distinguishing characteristic of a person or thing, understood as its general class, sort, type, etc.
- Synonym of caliber: the class of a gun.
- The vital functions or strength of someone or something, especially (now dialect) as requiring nourishment or careful maintenance or (medicine) as a force of regeneration without special treatment.
- A requirement or powerful impulse of the body's physical form, especially
- The need to urinate and defecate.
- Sexual desire.
- Spontaneous love, affection, or reverence, especially between parent and child.
- A product of the body's physical form, especially semen and vaginal fluids, menstrual fluid, and (obsolete) feces.
- A part of the body's physical form, especially (obsolete) the female genitalia.
- To endow with natural qualities.
- The sum of natural forces reified and considered as a sentient being, will, or principle.
Pronunciation
Word forms
Etymology
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *ǵenh₁- Proto-Indo-European *ǵn̥h₁-sḱé-ti Proto-Italic *gnāskōrder. Latin nāscor Proto-Indo-European *-tew-? Proto-Indo-European *-r-eh₂? Latin -tūra Latin nātūralbor. Old French naturebor. Middle English nature English nature From Middle English nature, natur, from Old French nature, from Latin nātūra (“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. Displaced native Middle English erd (“character, nature, disposition”) from Old English eard (compare German Art (“nature, character, kind, type”)); and Middle English kynde (“character, disposition, nature”) from Old English ġecynd. More at kind.