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Nature vs Purpose - What's the difference?

nature | purpose |

In obsolete terms the difference between nature and purpose

is that nature is to endow with natural qualities while purpose is instance; example.

As a proper noun Nature

is the sum of natural forces reified and considered as a sentient being, will, or principle.

nature

English

Alternative forms

* natuer (obsolete)

Noun

  • (lb) The natural world; consisting of all things unaffected by or predating human technology, production and design. e.g. the ecosystem, the natural environment, virgin ground, unmodified species, laws of nature.
  • * (1800-1859)
  • *:Nature has caprices which art cannot imitate.
  • *1891 , (Oscar Wilde), ''(The Decay of Lying)
  • *:Nature has good intentions, of course, but, as Aristotle once said, she cannot carry them out. When I look at a landscape I cannot help seeing all its defects.
  • The innate characteristics of a thing. What something will tend by its own constitution, to be or do. Distinct from what might be expected or intended.
  • *1920 , (Herman Cyril McNeile), , Ch.1:
  • *:Being by nature of a cheerful disposition, the symptom did not surprise his servant, late private of the same famous regiment, who was laying breakfast in an adjoining room.
  • *1869 , , :
  • *:Mark hardly knew whether to believe this or not. He already began to suspect that Roswell was something of a humbug, and though it was not in his nature to form a causeless dislike, he certainly did not feel disposed to like Roswell.
  • The summary of everything that has to do with biological, chemical and physical states and events in the physical universe.
  • *(John Milton) (1608-1674)
  • *:I oft admire / How Nature , wise and frugal, could commit / Such disproportions.
  • *{{quote-magazine, date=2012-01, author=Robert M. Pringle, volume=100, issue=1, page=31
  • , magazine=(American Scientist) , title= How to Be Manipulative , passage=As in much of biology, the most satisfying truths in ecology derive from manipulative experimentation. Tinker with nature and quantify how it responds.}}
  • Conformity to that which is natural, as distinguished from that which is artificial, or forced, or remote from actual experience.
  • *(William Shakespeare) (c.1564–1616)
  • *:One touch of nature makes the whole world kin.
  • Kind, sort; character; quality.
  • *(John Dryden) (1631-1700)
  • *:A dispute of this nature caused mischief.
  • *
  • *:Carried somehow, somewhither, for some reason, on these surging floods, were these travelers, of errand not wholly obvious to their fellows, yet of such sort as to call into query alike the nature of their errand and their own relations.
  • (lb) Physical constitution or existence; the vital powers; the natural life.
  • *(William Shakespeare) (c.1564–1616)
  • *:my days of nature
  • *(William Shakespeare) (c.1564–1616)
  • *:Oppressed nature sleeps.
  • (lb) Natural affection or reverence.
  • *(Alexander Pope) (1688-1744)
  • *:Have we not seen / The murdering son ascend his parent's bed, / Through violated nature force his way?
  • Derived terms

    * animal nature * back to nature * bad nature * by nature * call of nature * defy the laws of nature * crime against nature * freak of nature * good nature * human nature * law of nature/laws of nature * let nature take its course * Mother Nature * nature morte * nature preserve * nature reserve * nature strip * nature study * nature worship * second nature (nature)

    Verb

    (natur)
  • (obsolete) To endow with natural qualities.
  • Statistics

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    Anagrams

    * 1000 English basic words ----

    purpose

    English

    Etymology 1

    From (etyl) .

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • An object to be reached; a target; an aim; a goal.
  • * {{quote-magazine, date=2013-06-07, author= Ed Pilkington
  • , volume=188, issue=26, page=6, magazine=(The Guardian Weekly) , title= ‘Killer robots’ should be banned in advance, UN told , passage=In his submission to the UN, [Christof] Heyns points to the experience of drones. Unmanned aerial vehicles were intended initially only for surveillance, and their use for offensive purposes was prohibited, yet once strategists realised their perceived advantages as a means of carrying out targeted killings, all objections were swept out of the way.}}
  • A result that is desired; an intention.
  • The act of intending to do something; resolution; determination.
  • * 2013 , Phil McNulty, "[http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/23830980]", BBC Sport , 1 September 2013:
  • United began with more purpose in the early phase of the second half and Liverpool were grateful for Glen Johnson's crucial block from Young's goalbound shot.
  • * {{quote-magazine, year=2013, month=July-August, author= Sarah Glaz
  • , title= Ode to Prime Numbers , volume=101, issue=4, magazine=(American Scientist) , passage=Some poems, echoing the purpose of early poetic treatises on scientific principles, attempt to elucidate the mathematical concepts that underlie prime numbers. Others play with primes’ cultural associations. Still others derive their structure from mathematical patterns involving primes.}}
  • The subject of discourse; the point at issue.
  • (Spenser)
  • The reason for which something is done, or the reason it is done in a particular way.
  • The purpose of turning off the lights overnight is to save energy.
  • (obsolete) Instance; example.
  • (rfquotek, L'Estrange)
    Synonyms
    * (target ): aim, goal, object, target * (intention ): aim, plan, intention * (determination ): determination, intention, resolution * (subject of discourse ): matter, subject, topic * (reason for doing something ): reason * See also
    Derived terms
    (terms derived from purpose) * all-purpose * common purpose * cross-purpose * fit for purpose * for all intents and purposes * game with a purpose * general-purpose * infinitive of purpose * multi-purpose * metapurpose * purpose-built * purposeful * purposeless * purpose-like * purpose loan * purposely * purpose statement * on purpose

    Etymology 2

    From (etyl)

    Verb

    (purpos)
  • Have set as one's purpose; resolve to accomplish; intend; plan.
  • * Macaulay
  • I purpose to write the history of England from the accession of King James the Second down to a time which is within the memory of men still living.
  • (passive ) Designed for some purpose.
  • (obsolete) To have a purpose or intention; to discourse.
  • (Spenser)
    Derived terms
    * purposed * purposer * purposive * on purpose
    Synonyms
    * (have set as one's purpose ): aim, intend, mean, plan, set out * (designed for some purpose ): intended

    References

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    Statistics

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