From Latin 'natura' (birth, character), from 'nasci' (to be born) — the world defined by the act of coming into being.
The fundamental qualities or character of something; the physical world and its phenomena, including plants, animals, and landscapes, as opposed to human creations.
From Old French 'nature,' from Latin 'nātūra' meaning 'birth, constitution, character, the natural world,' derived from 'nātus' (born), the past participle of 'nāscī' (to be born). The PIE root is *ǵenh₁- meaning 'to give birth, to beget.' Latin 'nātūra' was itself a calque of Greek 'physis' (φύσις), both meaning literally 'the way
Latin 'nātūra' was deliberately coined as a translation of Greek 'physis' — both words literally mean 'the process of being born or growing.' This makes 'nature' and 'physics' etymological twins from different mothers: one born from Latin *ǵenh₁-, the other from Greek *bʰuH- (to grow), both trying to name the same concept of inherent becoming.
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