The Origin of the Word Nature

How Nature Entered the English Language

Dec 20, 2008 Edurne Scott

Etymology is the study of the history of words. Find out how "nature" entered the English language, from what source, and how its form and meaning have changed over time.

The word nature is over 5000 years old but it has only been used in the English language for 700 years. The word was adopted from Old French which meant, “course of things, character, the universe, and birth”. This word originally came from the Proto-Indo-European word *gene, “to give birth, or beget”. Since 1300, nature has been used in the English language to mean “essential qualities and innate disposition” as well as the “creative power in the material world”.

Earliest Use of Nature

One of the earliest uses of nature that is still used today was to describe “the inherent or dominating power or impulse which drives a person or other living organism”. This original sense of the word was used since the late 14th century and is similar to the present use, “Men have a physical as well as spiritual nature” (1872). Nature expanded throughout the centuries to mean an assortment of specific qualities of a person also, including their physical strength or constitution, their sexual drive, and their physical appetite.

By the late Middle English period nature described the will of the body which was believed to not be controllable, “T’was nature, sir, whose strong behest impelled me to the deed” (late 19th century). The term second nature has existed since 1390 and means to literally follow nature- another term created by medieval Aristotelian philosophy to describe human personality. The word supernatur(e)al has existed since 1450 and originally meant, “above nature, belonging to a higher realm”. This was once used with a more religious sense, but after 1799 it was predominantly used to talk about ghosts and other phenomenon.

Modern English Use of Nature

From the late 18th century, nature has been contrasted with nurture in the scientific debate concerning what determines individual differences- either an individual’s hereditary personality and traits (nature) or their life experiences (nurture). In this scientific debate the word nature has adopted the meaning “heredity influence on or determinant of personality”. This innate power is supposed to control physical and mental activities to the point that nature is seen to describe the innate power behind action and character.

The meaning of the word nature has always had the closest ties to the material world and the planet earth. nature is seen to describe, “the immediate cause of all the world’s phenomena” be it plants, animals, or human beings. From the early 19th century nature was used to describe the fidelity or close adherence to the natural state of planet earth, “we derive a great portion of our pleasures from the mere beauties of nature” (1835). A hundred years later this idea was adopted by Naturists who became part of the movement for communal nudity.

Conclusion

The word nature has therefore traveled through a semantic journey of meaning – from its original meaning to describe the nascence of the world itself, to the underlying personality of humans themselves, to the preferred term for nudists.

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Nature