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Showing results for natural philosophy. Search instead for nature philosopher.

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

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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

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

Aristotle believed that knowledge, including natural philosophy, should be fundamentally deductive in character.

From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton

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