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natural philosophy

American  
natural philosophy British  

noun

  1. (now only used in Scottish universities) physical science, esp physics

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

Etymology

Origin of natural philosophy

late Middle English word dating back to 1425–75

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

Zoe Kurland: John Tyndall was working as a professor of natural philosophy at The Royal Institution in London, publishing research in European journals.

From Scientific American Nov. 9, 2023

There, daily Bible study shared a dense curriculum with history, geography, mathematics, natural philosophy, Greek, Latin, music and rhetoric.

From New York Times Feb. 7, 2023

John Tyndall was a mountaineer, prolific writer of science books, prominent physicist and professor of natural philosophy at the Royal Institution of Great Britain.

From Scientific American Aug. 26, 2019

Accompanying Smith to the execution were Preston and a professor of natural philosophy named Thomas Jackson, who would later become famous as Confederate Gen. Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson.

From Washington Post Dec. 2, 2017

‘But since these, astronomy and natural philosophy in general have, for so little time, been extraordinarily advanced...Natural Philosophy is therefore but young.’

From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton

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