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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.

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

This notion of soul, as a principle of internal motion, was influential across ancient and medieval natural philosophy.

From Textbooks • Jun. 15, 2022

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

Bacon, for example, who is of course familiar with the use of the word ‘evidence’ in a legal context, never employs it when discussing natural philosophy.

From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton

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