Agency Dictionary
natura
nounPronunciation: /naːˈtuː.ra/
In Portuguese: natura
Philosophy & EthicsWhat does “natura” mean?
The Latin word for nature. It first meant birth, and then the innate character of a thing and the order of the world, and it is the origin of the word nature.
Etymology
Latin nātūra, the ancestor of all Romance and English forms of the word, was formed from nāscor (to be born) and the suffix -tūra, which creates nouns naming the result or condition of an action. Its first sense was the condition of being born, the essential character one is born with, and from there it extended to the innate quality of anything and eventually to the whole of the physical world. Latin writers used natura in all these senses, and it survived intact as a learned and philosophical term.
Usage note
In English, natura is used mainly in philosophical, theological, and scholarly contexts where the Latin form itself is meant, rather than as a synonym for the common word nature.
Synonyms
- nature
- essence
- character
- kind
Word family
- nature
- natural
- naturally
- naturalize
- supernatural
Usage examples
with its deepest roots in the term "natura," derived from the verb "to be born", the word nature pertains to that which preserves the origin and intrinsic essence of what is being investigated.
Writing.2 - Aphorisms
Concept
Source editions
Where this entry comes from in the Agency editorial.
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