Nature has been kind to golfers since the beginning of May. Temperatures have warmed up and golf courses are now open. The word nature has always had close ties to the material world and the planet earth. Nature describes the immediate cause of all the world’s phenomena, be it weather, plants, animals, or human beings. Mother Nature is a personification of nature that focuses on the life-giving and nurturing aspects of all things on earth.
The word nature is derived from the Latin natura. Natura is the Latin term for the Greek word physis, connected to concepts of growing, developing, and becoming. In Greek mythology Physis is the goddess of the origin and ordering of all things in the world.
When first used in the English language in the early 1300s, nature meant essential qualities and innate disposition of a thing or person. Human beings have a physical as well as a spiritual nature. It is the nature of a lion to hunt prey for food. Nature was the hereditary circumstances and conditions of a person. The nature of a controversy would be the crucial issue of the dispute.
By the mid-14th century nature began to refer to the forces or processes of the world that produce living things and maintain order. People began to talk about things happening naturally, without interference from humans, divine intervention, or anything outside what is considered normal for the natural things being considered. Nature is the process by which an apple tree produces apples with no help from humans or gods. It is also the nature of an apple tree to produce apples, not other things.
At the end of the 1300s English speakers started referring to creation, the universe, the world, as Nature, the personification of existing things. Nature was the world in its entirety. Looking at scenery or a sunset was to enjoy the beauties of Nature. Nature is the restorative powers in the body and bodily processes that provide healing and recovery.
The term ‘second nature’ means to ‘follow nature,’ describing human personality traits. The word supernatural has existed since 1450 and originally meant, ‘above nature, belonging to a higher realm’. This was used with a more religious sense, but after 1799 it was predominantly used to talk about ghosts and other phenomena.
The meaning of nature expanded throughout the centuries to mean an assortment of specific qualities of a person, including their physical strength, their sexual drive, and their physical appetite. Nature also described the will of the body which was believed not to be controllable, ‘T’was nature, sir, whose strong behest impelled me to the deed’ (from The Diserted Village, and The Traveller by Oliver Goldsmith in 1881).
From the early 19th century nature was used to describe the fidelity or close adherence to the natural state of planet earth. The modern environmental movement desires to limit human intervention in nature, and have the earth go back to the way it used to be without humanity. A hundred years later this idea was adopted by Naturists who became part of the movement for communal nudity.
When sharing important, sensitive, and ‘for your eyes only’ information people talk about documents of a confidential nature. These are the fundamental characteristics of classified material.
Nature implies inherent, essential resemblances rather than obvious or superficial likenesses. Thus, we speak of problems of a similar nature.
I can categorically state that it is in my nature to enjoy Nature on the golf course, even though it is not a natural environment.
John would like to know if anyone has a sincere interest in a relevant word that he could possibly research for an upcoming column. If so, please send your requests to wordwisdom2021@gmail.com . Words will be selected according to relevance and research criteria. We cannot confirm that all words will be used.
The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the position of this publication.
