Definition: natural
Source: WordNet (r) 1.7
natural
adj 1: in accordance with nature; relating to or concerning nature;
"a very natural development"; "our natural
environment"; "natural science"; "natural resources";
"natural cliffs"; "natural phenomena" [ant: unnatural]
2: existing in or produced by nature; not artificial or
imitation; "a natural pearl"; "natural gas"; "natural
silk"; "natural blonde hair"; "a natural sweetener";
"natural fertilizers" [ant: artificial]
3: existing in or in conformity with nature or the observable
world; neither supernatural nor magical; "a perfectly
natural explanation" [ant: supernatural]
4: (biology) functioning or occurring in a normal way; lacking
abnormalities or deficiencies; "it's the natural thing to
happen"; "natural immunity"; "a grandparent's natural
affection for a grandchild"
5: (music) of a key containing no sharps or flats; "B natural"
[ant: sharp, flat]
6: unthinking; prompted by (or as if by) instinct; "a cat's
natural aversion to water"; "offering to help was as
instinctive as breathing" [syn: instinctive]
7: (used especially of commodities) in the natural unprocessed
condition; "natural yogurt"; "natural produce"; "raw
wool"; "raw sugar"; "bales of rude cotton" [syn: raw,
rude]
8: related by blood; not adopted; "natural parent"
9: being talented through inherited qualities; "a natural
leader"; "a born musician"; "an innate talent" [syn: born,
innate]
10: unaffected and natural looking; "a lifelike pose"; "a
natural reaction" [syn: lifelike]
n 1: someone regarded as certain to succeed; "he's a natural for
the job"
2: a notation cancelling a previous sharp or flat [syn: cancel]
3: (in craps) a first roll of 7 or 11 that immediately wins the
stake
Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)
Natural \Nat"u*ral\ (?; 135), a. [OE. naturel, F. naturel, fr. L. naturalis, fr. natura. See Nature.] 1. Fixed or determined by nature; pertaining to the constitution of a thing; belonging to native character; according to nature; essential; characteristic; not artifical, foreign, assumed, put on, or acquired; as, the natural growth of animals or plants; the natural motion of a gravitating body; natural strength or disposition; the natural heat of the body; natural color. With strong natural sense, and rare force of will. --Macaulay. 2. Conformed to the order, laws, or actual facts, of nature; consonant to the methods of nature; according to the stated course of things, or in accordance with the laws which govern events, feelings, etc.; not exceptional or violent; legitimate; normal; regular; as, the natural consequence of crime; a natural death. What can be more natural than the circumstances in the behavior of those women who had lost their husbands on this fatal day? --Addison. 3. Having to do with existing system to things; dealing with, or derived from, the creation, or the world of matter and mind, as known by man; within the scope of human reason or experience; not supernatural; as, a natural law; natural science; history, theology. I call that natural religion which men might know . . . by the mere principles of reason, improved by consideration and experience, without the help of revelation. --Bp. Wilkins. 4. Conformed to truth or reality; as: (a) Springing from true sentiment; not artifical or exaggerated; -- said of action, delivery, etc.; as, a natural gesture, tone, etc. (b) Resembling the object imitated; true to nature; according to the life; -- said of anything copied or imitated; as, a portrait is natural. 5. Having the character or sentiments properly belonging to one's position; not unnatural in feelings. To leave his wife, to leave his babes, . . . He wants the natural touch. --Shak. 6. Connected by the ties of consanguinity. ``Natural friends.'' --J. H. Newman. 7. Begotten without the sanction of law; born out of wedlock; illegitimate; bastard; as, a natural child. 8. Of or pertaining to the lower or animal nature, as contrasted with the higher or moral powers, or that which is spiritual; being in a state of nature; unregenerate. The natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God. --1 Cor. ii. 14. 9. (Math.) Belonging to, to be taken in, or referred to, some system, in which the base is 1; -- said or certain functions or numbers; as, natural numbers, those commencing at 1; natural sines, cosines, etc., those taken in arcs whose radii are 1.
Natural \Nat"u*ral\ (?; 135), n.
1. A native; an aboriginal. [Obs.] --Sir W. Raleigh.
2. pl. Natural gifts, impulses, etc. [Obs.] --Fuller.
3. One born without the usual powers of reason or
understanding; an idiot. ``The minds of naturals.''
--Locke.
4. (Mus.) A character [[natural]] used to contradict, or to
remove the effect of, a sharp or flat which has preceded
it, and to restore the unaltered note.
Source: The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (2003-OCT-10)
NATURAL An integrated 4GL from Software AG, Germany. The menu-driven version is SUPER/NATURAL. Natural 2 is a major upgrade to Natural 1. Version 2.1.7 in the MVS environment (June 1995, also available for Unix). Natural works with DB2 and various other databases, but Natural and Adabas normally go together. There are many products available in the "Natural" family, including SuperNatural, Natural for Windows, Entire Connection (enables up/downloading and interaction with Excel) and Esperant. (1995-11-14)
