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Webster 1913 Edition

Natural

Nat′u-ral

(?; 135)
,
Adj.
[OE.
naturel
, F.
naturel
, fr. L.
naturalis
, fr.
natura
. See
Nature
.]
1.
Fixed or determined by nature; pertaining to the constitution of a thing; belonging to native character; according to nature; essential; characteristic; innate; not artificial, foreign, assumed, put on, or acquired;
as, the
natural
growth of animals or plants; the
natural
motion of a gravitating body;
natural
strength or disposition; the
natural
heat of the body;
natural
color.
With strong
natural
sense, and rare force of will.
Macaulay.
2.
Conformed to the order, laws, or actual facts, of nature; consonant to the methods of nature; according to the stated course of things, or in accordance with the laws which govern events, feelings, etc.; not exceptional or violent; legitimate; normal; regular;
as, the
natural
consequence of crime; a
natural
death; anger is a
natural
response to insult.
What can be more
natural
than the circumstances in the behavior of those women who had lost their husbands on this fatal day?
Addison.
3.
Having to do with existing system to things; dealing with, or derived from, the creation, or the world of matter and mind, as known by man; within the scope of human reason or experience; not supernatural;
as, a
natural
law;
natural
science; history, theology.
I call that
natural
religion which men might know . . . by the mere principles of reason, improved by consideration and experience, without the help of revelation.
Bp. Wilkins.
4.
Conformed to truth or reality
; as:
(a)
Springing from true sentiment; not artificial or exaggerated; – said of action, delivery, etc.;
as, a
natural
gesture, tone, etc.
(b)
Resembling the object imitated; true to nature; according to the life; – said of anything copied or imitated;
as, a portrait is
natural
.
5.
Having the character or sentiments properly belonging to one’s position; not unnatural in feelings.
To leave his wife, to leave his babes, . . .
He wants the
natural
touch.
Shakespeare
7.
Hence:
Begotten without the sanction of law; born out of wedlock; illegitimate; bastard;
as, a
natural
child
.
8.
Of or pertaining to the lower or animal nature, as contrasted with the higher or moral powers, or that which is spiritual; being in a state of nature; unregenerate.
The
natural
man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God.
1 Cor. ii. 14.
9.
(Math.)
Belonging to, to be taken in, or referred to, some system, in which the base is 1; – said of certain functions or numbers;
as,
natural
numbers, those commencing at 1;
natural
sines, cosines, etc., those taken in arcs whose radii are 1.
Natural day
,
the space of twenty-four hours.
Chaucer.

Syn. – See
Native
.

Nat′u-ral

(?; 135)
,
Noun.
1.
A native; an aboriginal.
[Obs.]
Sir W. Raleigh.
2.
pl.
Natural gifts, impulses, etc.
[Obs.]
Fuller.
3.
One born without the usual powers of reason or understanding; an idiot.
“The minds of naturals.”
Locke.
4.
(Mus.)
A character [♮] used to contradict, or to remove the effect of, a sharp or flat which has preceded it, and to restore the unaltered note.

Webster 1828 Edition

Natural

NATURAL

,
Adj.
[to be born or produced]
1.
Pertaining to nature; produced or effected by nature, or by the laws of growth, formation or motion impressed on bodies or beings by divine power. Thus we speak of the natural growth of animals or plants; the natural motion of a gravitating body; natural strength or disposition; the natural heat of the body; natural color; natural beauty. In this sense, natural is opposed to artificial or acquired.
2.
According to the stated course of things. Poverty and shame are the natural consequences of certain vices.
3.
Not forced; not far fetched; such as is dictated by nature. The gestures of the orator are natural.
4.
According to the life; as a natural representation of the face.
5.
Consonant to nature.
Fire and warmth go together, and so seem to carry with them as natural an evidence as self-evident truths themselves.
6.
Derived from nature, as opposed to habitual. The love of pleasure is natural ; the love of study is usually habitual or acquired.
7.
Discoverable by reason; not revealed; as natural religion.
8.
Produced or coming in the ordinary course of things, or the progress or animals and vegetables; as a natural death; opposed to violent or premature.
9.
Tender; affectionate by nature.
10.
Unaffected; unassumed; according to truth and reality.
What can be more natural than the circumstances of the behavior of those women who had lost heir husbands on this fatal day?
11.
Illegitimate; born out of wedlock; as a natural son.
12.
Native; vernacular; as ones natural language.
13.
Derived from the study of the works or nature; as natural knowledge.
14.
A natural note, in music, is that which is according to the usual order of the scale; opposed to flat and sharp notes, which are called artificial.
Natural history, in its most extensive sense, is the description of whatever is created, or of the whole universe, including the heavens and the earth, and all the productions of the earth. But more generally, natural history is limited to a description of the earth and its productions, including zoology, botany, geology, mineralogy, meteorology, & c.
Natural philosophy, the science of material natural bodies, of their properties, powers and motions. It is distinguished from intellectual and moral philosophy, which respect the mind or understanding of man and the qualities of actions. Natural philosophy comprehends mechanics, hydrostatics, optics, astronomy, chimistry, magnetism, eletricity, galvanism, & c.

Definition 2024

natural

natural

English

Alternative forms

Adjective

natural ‎(comparative more natural, superlative most natural)

  1. That exists and evolved within the confines of an ecosystem.
    The species will be under threat if its natural habitat is destroyed.‎
  2. Of or relating to nature.
    In the natural world the fit tend to live on while the weak perish.‎
  3. Without artificial additives.
    Natural food is healthier than processed food.‎
  4. As expected; reasonable.
    It's natural for business to be slow on Tuesdays.‎
    His prison sentence was the natural consequence of a life of crime.
    • Addison
      What can be more natural than the circumstances in the behaviour of those women who had lost their husbands on this fatal day?
  5. (music) Neither sharp nor flat. Denoted ♮.
    The piece is played in C natural.‎
  6. (music) Produced by natural organs, such as those of the human throat, in distinction from instrumental music.
  7. (music) Applied to an air or modulation of harmony which moves by easy and smooth transitions, digressing but little from the original key.
    (Can we find and add a quotation of Moore (Encyc. of Music) to this entry?)
  8. Without, or prior to, modification or adjustment.
    the natural motion of a gravitating body
    The chairs were all natural oak but the table had a lurid finish.‎
    • Macaulay
      with strong natural sense, and rare force of will
    • 1963, Margery Allingham, chapter 5, in The China Governess:
      Mr. Campion appeared suitably impressed and she warmed to him. He was very easy to talk to with those long clown lines in his pale face, a natural goon, born rather too early she suspected.
    So-called second-generation silicone breast implants looked and felt more like the natural breast.‎
    1. (dice games) The result of a dice roll before bonuses or penalties are added to or subtracted from the result.
  9. Having the character or sentiments properly belonging to one's position; not unnatural in feelings.
    • Shakespeare
      To leave his wife, to leave his babes, […] / He wants the natural touch.
  10. (obsolete) Connected by the ties of consanguinity.
    • J. H. Newman
      natural friends
  11. (obsolete) Born out of wedlock; illegitimate; bastard.
    a natural child
  12. (of sexual intercourse) Without a condom.
    We made natural love.‎

Synonyms

Antonyms

Derived terms

Related terms

Translations

Noun

natural ‎(plural naturals)

  1. (now rare) A native inhabitant of a place, country etc. [from 16th c.]
    • 1615, Ralph Hamor, A True Discourse of the Present State of Virginia, Richmond 1957, page 3:
      I coniecture and assure my selfe that yee cannot be ignorant by what meanes this peace hath bin thus happily both for our proceedings and the welfare of the Naturals concluded [...].
  2. (music) A note that is not or is no longer to be modified by an accidental, or the symbol ♮ used to indicate such a note. [from 17th c.]
  3. One with an innate talent at or for something. [from 18th c.]
    He's a natural on the saxophone.
  4. An almost white colour, with tints of grey, yellow or brown; originally that of natural fabric. [from 20th c.]
    natural colour:    
  5. (archaic) One with a simple mind; a fool or idiot.
    • 1597, The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet, by Shakespeare, Act 2 Scene 4
      (Mercutio) [...] this drivelling love is like a great natural, / that runs lolling up and down to hide his bauble in a hole.
  6. (colloquial, chiefly Britain) One's natural life.
    • 1929, Frederic Manning, The Middle Parts of Fortune, Vintage 2014, page 155:
      ‘Sergeant-Major Robinson came in in the middle of it, and you've never seen a man look more surprised in your natural.’
  7. (African American Vernacular) A hairstyle for people with afro-textured hair in which the hair is not straightened or otherwise treated.
    • 2002, Maxine Leeds Craig, Ain't I a Beauty Queen?: Black Women, Beauty, and the Politics of Race, Oxford University Press (ISBN 9780199881673)
      Chinosole, who stopped straightening her hair and cut it into a natural while at a predominantly white college, was quite uneasy with the style
    • 2012, Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen, Chicken Soup for the African American Soul: Celebrating and Sharing Our Culture One Story at a Time, Simon and Schuster (ISBN 9781453279953)
      I wanted to do it for so long — throw out my chemically relaxed hair for a natural.
    • 2015, Carmen M. Cusack, HAIR AND JUSTICE: Sociolegal Significance of Hair in Criminal Justice, Constitutional Law, and Public Policy, Charles C Thomas Publisher (ISBN 9780398090968), page 155
      Third, it insinuates that black afro hairstyles (e.g., naturals) relate to African cultural heritage, which is largely untrue.

Translations

See also

  • Appendix:Colors

Statistics

Most common English words before 1923: except · sound · didn't · #515: natural · laid · cold · led

Catalan

Pronunciation

  • (Balearic) IPA(key): /nə.tuˈɾal/
  • (Central) IPA(key): /nə.tuˈɾal/
  • (Valencian) IPA(key): /na.tuˈɾal/

Adjective

natural m, f ‎(masculine and feminine plural naturals)

  1. natural

Derived terms

Noun

natural m, f ‎(plural naturals)

  1. native, natural (person who is native to a place)

Synonyms

Noun

natural m ‎(plural naturals)

  1. nature (innate characteristics of a person)

Related terms

External links

Galician

Adjective

natural m, f (plural naturais)

  1. natural

Derived terms

Noun

natural m, f ‎(plural naturais)

  1. native, natural

Synonyms

Noun 2

natural m ‎(plural naturais)

  1. nature (innate characteristics of a person)

Related terms

External links

Old French

Etymology

From Latin nātūrālis.

Adjective

natural m ‎(oblique and nominative feminine singular naturale)

  1. natural

Related terms

Descendants

Portuguese

Etymology

From Old Portuguese natural, from Latin nātūrālis.

Pronunciation

  • (Portugal) IPA(key): /nɐ.tu.ˈɾaɫ/
  • Hyphenation: na‧tu‧ral

Adjective

natural m, f ‎(plural naturais, comparable)

  1. natural
  2. native of, from
    Sou natural de Lisboa.‎ ― I'm from Lisbon.
  3. room-temperature (of liquids)
    Água natural‎ ― Room-temperature water

Synonyms

Antonyms

Related terms

Spanish

Etymology

From Latin nātūrālis.

Pronunciation

  • Rhymes: -al

Adjective

natural m, f ‎(plural naturales)

  1. natural

Related terms

External links

Etymology

Old French, from Latin nātūrālis, from nātus, the perfect participle of nāscor ‎(“I am born”).

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈnæt͡ʃ.(ə).ɹəl/

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