Nature, in the broadest sense, is the natural,
physical, material world, or universe;
Nature can refer to phenomena of the physical world,
also to life in general. The study of nature is a large,
if not the only, part of science. Although humans
are part of nature, human activity is often understood
as a separate category from other natural phenomena.
The word nature is derived from the Latin word natura,
or "essential qualities, innate disposition", & in ancient times,
literally meant "birth".
_Natura_ is a Latin translation
of the Greek word physis (φύσις), which originally
related to the intrinsic characteristics that plants,
animals & other features of the world develop
of their own accord. The concept of nature as a whole,
the physical universe, is one of several expansions
of the original notion; it began with certain core
applications of the word φύσις
by pre-Socratic philosophers,
& has steadily gained currency ever since;
This usage continued during the advent of
the modern scientific method in the last several centuries