From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Nature \Na"ture\, verb (used with an object) To endow with natural qualities. [Obs.]
He [God] which natureth every kind. --Gower.
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Nature \Na"ture\ (?; 135), noun [F., fr. L. natura, fr. natus born, produced, p. p. of nasci to be born. See {Nation}.]
1. The existing system of things; the universe of matter, energy, time and space; the physical world; all of creation. Contrasted with the world of mankind, with its mental and social phenomena. [1913 Webster +PJC]
But looks through nature up to nature's God. --Pope.
When, in the course of human Events, it becomes necessary for one People to dissolve the Political Bonds which have connected them with another, ans to assume among the powers of the earth the separate and equal Station which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent Respect to the Opinions of Mankind requires that they should declare the causes that impel them to the Separation. --Declaration of Independence
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; as, produced by nature; the forces of nature.
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 artificial, 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 force 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; uncivilized.
{Nature printing}, 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.
From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:
noun
1: 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"
From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:
243 Moby Thesaurus words for "nature": Copernican universe, Einsteinian universe, Newtonian universe, Ptolemaic universe, air, all, all being, all creation, allness, anatomy, animus, aptitude, aroma, artlessness, atom, atomic particles, attribute, attributes, badge, being, bent, bias, blood, body-build, brand, breed, brute matter, building block, by nature, cachet, cast, category, character, characteristic, characteristics, chemical element, clan, class, color, complexion, component, composition, configuration, conformation, constituent, constituents, constitution, cosmos, countryside, crasis, created nature, created universe, creation, cut, denomination, description, designation, dharma, diathesis, differentia, differential, disposition, distinctive feature, earmark, earth, eccentricity, element, elementary particle, elementary unit, environment, essence, essentiality, ethos, everything that is, expanding universe, feather, feature, features, fiber, figure, fire, flavor, form, frame, framework, fundamental particle, genius, genre, genuineness, genus, grain, gust, habit, hallmark, hue, humor, humors, hyle, hypostasis, identity, idiocrasy, idiosyncrasy, ilk, impress, impression, inartificiality, inclination, index, individualism, individuality, intactness, keynote, kidney, kin, kind, label, leaning, line, lineaments, lot, macrocosm, macrocosmos, make, makeup, manner, mannerism, mark, marking, material, material world, materiality, matter, megacosm, mental set, metagalaxy, mettle, mind, mind-set, mold, molecule, monad, mould, natural man, natural state, natural world, naturalism, naturally, naturalness, number, odor, omneity, particularity, peculiarity, personality, persuasion, phylum, physical world, physique, plenum, predilection, predisposition, preference, primitiveness, pristineness, proclivity, propensity, properties, property, pulsating universe, quality, quirk, race, savor, scenery, seal, set, shape, sidereal universe, simplicity, singularity, slant, smack, somatotype, sort, specialty, species, spirit, stamp, state of nature, steady-state universe, strain, streak, stripe, structure, stuff, style, substance, substratum, suchness, sum of things, system, taint, tang, taste, temper, temperament, tendency, tenor, texture, the four elements, the like of, the likes of, token, tone, totality, totality of being, trait, tribe, trick, turn, turn of mind, twist, type, unaffectation, unaffectedness, unartificialness, unassumingness, undisguise, unit of being, universe, unpretentiousness, unspoiledness, variety, vein, virginity, warp, water, way, whole wide world, wide world, wildness, world, world without end
From Jargon File (4.3.1, 29 Jun 2001) [jargon]:
nature n. See {has the X nature}.
From The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (27 SEP 03) [foldoc]:
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