natural

—naturalness, n.

/nach"euhr euhl, nach"reuhl/, adj.

1. existing in or formed by nature (opposed to artificial): a natural bridge.

2. based on the state of things in nature; constituted by nature: Growth is a natural process.

3. of or pertaining to nature or the universe: natural beauty.

4. of, pertaining to, or occupied with the study of natural science: conducting natural experiments.

5. in a state of nature; uncultivated, as land.

6. growing spontaneously, without being planted or tended by human hand, as vegetation.

7. having undergone little or no processing and containing no chemical additives: natural food; natural ingredients. Cf. organic (def. 11).

8. having a real or physical existence, as opposed to one that is spiritual, intellectual, fictitious, etc.

9. of, pertaining to, or proper to the nature or essential constitution: natural ability.

10. proper to the circumstances of the case: a natural result of his greed.

11. free from affectation or constraint: a natural manner.

12. arising easily or spontaneously: a natural courtesy to strangers.

13. consonant with the nature or character of.

14. in accordance with the nature of things: It was natural that he should hit back.

15. based upon the innate moral feeling of humankind: natural justice.

16. in conformity with the ordinary course of nature; not unusual or exceptional.

17. happening in the ordinary or usual course of things, without the intervention of accident, violence, etc.

18. related only by birth; of no legal relationship; illegitimate: a natural son.

19. related by blood rather than by adoption.

20. based on what is learned from nature rather than on revelation.

21. true to or closely imitating nature: a natural representation.

22. unenlightened or unregenerate: the natural man.

23. being such by nature; born such: a natural fool.

24. Music.

a. neither sharp nor flat.

b. changed in pitch by the natural sign.

25. not treated, tanned, refined, etc.; in its original or raw state: natural wood; natural cowhide.

26. (of a horn or trumpet) having neither side holes nor valves.

27. not tinted or colored; undyed.

28. having a pale tannish or grayish-yellow color, as many woods and untreated animal skins.

29. Cards.

a. being a card other than a wild card or joker.

b. (of a set or sequence of cards) containing no wild cards.

30. having or showing feelings, as affection, gratitude, or kindness, considered part of basic human nature.

31. Afro (def. 1).

n.

32. any person or thing that is or is likely or certain to be very suitable to and successful in an endeavor without much training or difficulty.

33. Music.

a. a white key on a piano, organ, or the like.

b. the natural sign placed before a note, canceling the effect of a previous sharp or flat.

c. a note affected by a natural sign, or a tone thus represented.

34. an idiot.

35. Cards. blackjack (def. 2b).

36. Afro (def. 2).

37. (in craps) a winning combination of seven or eleven made on the first cast.

38. a natural substance or a product made with such a substance: an ointment containing mink oil and other naturals.

[1300-50; ME < L naturalis (see NATURE, -AL¹); r. ME naturel < MF < L, as above]

Syn. 11. spontaneous, unaffected, genuine, unmannered.

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(as used in expressions)

American Museum of Natural History

natural bridge

natural arch

Natural Bridges National Monument

natural childbirth

natural gas

natural law

natural selection

Royal Society of London for the Promotion of Natural Knowledge

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▪ 2003

      January, Mauritania. Heavy rains and extremely cold weather claim the lives of at least 25 persons and kill an estimated 80,000 head of livestock.

      January 17–19, Goma, Democratic Republic of the Congo. The Mt. Nyiragongo volcano, 19 km (12 mi) north of Goma, erupts, and a river of lava some 50 m (165 ft) wide rolls through the city; hundreds of thousands of persons in the area are displaced, and at least 45 die.

      Late January, Europe. Winds approaching 200 km/hr (120 mph) wreak havoc across the continent. At least 18 persons die, including 8 in Britain, 4 in Poland, and 3 in Germany. Hundreds of thousands are left without electricity, and travel is brought to a standstill in many areas.

      February, Java, Indon. Weeks of heavy rains trigger floods and landslides on the island; at least 150 persons perish.

      February 3, Central Turkey. An earthquake of magnitude 6 jolts the region; at least 43 persons die, more than 300 are injured, and some 600 buildings are destroyed.

      February 6, Northern Afghanistan. During a blizzard an avalanche of snow blocks an entrance to the Salang Tunnel about 80 km (50 mi) north of Kabul; 4 persons are killed.

      February 19, La Paz, Bol. A devastating storm—the most destructive in the history of the Bolivian capital—sets off a series of flash floods and mud slides; 69 persons die, at least 100 are injured, and hundreds are left homeless.

      March 3, Northern Afghanistan. A magnitude-7.4 earthquake shears off a cliff in the Hindu Kush mountains north of Kabul; the ensuing avalanche buries a village and claims the lives of at least 100 persons.

      March 25–26, Northern Afghanistan. An earthquake of magnitude 6.1 and as many as six aftershocks jolt the region; the city of Nahrin and numerous mountain villages are destroyed; 1,000 persons die, and some 4,000 are injured.

      April 2, Morobe province, Papua New Guinea. A landslide hits two villages in the province, killing 36 persons; another 28 are missing and feared dead.

      April 12, Northern Afghanistan. A magnitude-5.8 earthquake strikes the mountainous Hindu Kush region; two villages, Doabi and Khoja Khesir, are devastated; at least 30 persons die, and some 100 are injured.

      May 9–15, Andhra Pradesh, India. An unusually intense heat wave claims the lives of at least 1,030 persons in the southern Indian state.

      Early June, Northeastern Nigeria. A heat wave claims the lives of more than 60 persons in the city of Maiduguri in Borno state.

      Early to mid-June, Northwestern China. Torrential rains produce widespread flooding in the region; more than 200 persons die, including at least 152 in the worst-hit province, Shaanxi.

      June, Southern Russia. Floods wreak havoc in the regions of Stavropol and Krasnodar and in the republics of Karachay-Cherkessia, North Ossetia, Ingushetia, and Chechnya. By June 24 some 70 villages are under water. At least 53 persons are confirmed dead, and 75,000 are homeless.

      June–mid-August, South Asia. Monsoon floods submerge parts of Nepal, India, and Bangladesh. The death toll is highest in Nepal, where at least 422 persons perish and thousands are left homeless. In India nearly 400 persons are killed and some 15 million are displaced in Bihar and Assam states. At least 157 persons die in Bangladesh, where a third of the country is under water; about 6 million Bangladeshis are displaced.

      June 4–5, Northwestern Syria. The Zeyzoun Dam, near the town of Hama, collapses after weeks of heavy rains in the area; several villages are flooded, and at least 28 persons are killed.

      June 22, Northwestern Iran. An earthquake of magnitude 6.5 strikes an area between the cities of Qazvin and Hamadan and is followed by more than 20 aftershocks. At least 220 persons are killed, and 1,300 are injured. As many as 100 villages may have been flattened.

      July, Algeria. A heat wave brings temperatures as high as 56 °C (133 °F)—the highest the country has seen in 50 years. At least 50 persons die.

      July 2, Chuuk state, Federated States of Micronesia. Tropical Storm Chata'an wreaks havoc in the state; strong winds, rain, and landslides claim the lives of 47 persons.

      Mid-July, Southeastern Peru. A severe cold snap kills at least 59 persons; more than 80,000 head of livestock, mostly llamas and alpacas, also perish.

      July 19, Henan province, China. A storm produces high winds and egg-sized hailstones that batter the province; a number of buildings collapse, and power is temporarily cut off; 16 persons die, and some 200 are injured.

      July 21–22, Eastern Cape and KwaZulu/Natal provinces, S.Af. Snowstorms dump up to 1 m (3.3 ft) of snow on parts of the provinces; thousands of homes and other buildings are damaged; 22 persons die.

      August, Southern China. Torrential rains trigger landslides and floods across much of the region. At least 133 persons lose their lives, including 108 in Hunan province; more than 100 million persons are affected.

      August 7, Eastern Tajikistan. A mud slide destroys some 56 homes in the village of Dasht in the Gorno-Badakhshan region; at least 20 persons die.

      August 11, Uttaranchal state, India. Floods and mud slides wreak havoc in several villages after heavy monsoonal rains; at least 43 persons perish.

      Mid-August, Central Europe and southern Russia. Extensive flooding inundates parts of Central Europe and Russia's Black Sea region after days of torrential rain. At least 18 persons are confirmed dead, and 25 are missing in Germany, where the worst flooding is occurring along the Elbe River and its Mulde tributary. Another 16 persons die in the Czech Republic, and at least 58 perish in Russia.

      August 31–September 1, South Korea. The strongest storm to hit the Korean peninsula in 40 years claims the lives of at least 113 persons. Typhoon Rusa, moving across the southern part of the peninsula, brings extensive flooding and winds exceeding 200 km/hr (125 mph).

      September 12, El Porvenir, Guat. A landslide that occurs following heavy rains buries a mountain village some 120 km (75 mi) south of Guatemala City; 26 persons are killed, and 7 are missing.

      Mid-September, Sommières region, France. Torrential rains batter the region for days, triggering floods in which 23 persons lose their lives.

      September 20, Southern Russia. An immense glacierborne landslide occurs in the Caucasus Mountains of North Ossetia; 16 deaths are confirmed, but according to officials, 132 are missing, including Russian action-film star Sergey Bodrov, Jr., who was making a movie in the area.

      October 2, Northern Syria. A landslide causes several buildings to collapse; at least 20 persons are killed, and 30 are injured.

      October 26–27, Northern Europe. A powerful storm rages across the region, killing 7 in Britain, 6 in France, at least 10 in Germany, 5 in Belgium, 4 in The Netherlands, and 1 in Denmark.

      October 29, Northern Colombia. A mud slide brought on by heavy rains sweeps through the village of Montecristo in the San Lucas Mountains; 6 deaths are confirmed, and at least 60 persons are missing and feared dead.

      October 31, Central Italy. A severe earthquake shakes the mountainous Molise region northeast of Naples; in the town of San Giuliano di Puglia, 26 children and a teacher are killed when their school collapses. Some 11,000 in surrounding areas are left homeless.

      November 3, Near Gilgit, Pakistan-administered Northern Areas of Jammu and Kashmir. A magnitude-4.5 earthquake rocks several mountain villages, killing at least 17 persons, injuring 65, and leaving some 1,600 families homeless.

      November 9–11, Southeastern and midwestern U.S. A storm front that produces nearly 90 tornadoes cuts a broad swath of destruction from the Gulf of Mexico to the Great Lakes. The highest death toll is in Tennessee, where 17 persons are killed; 12 persons die in Alabama, 5 in Ohio, and 1 each in Mississippi and Pennsylvania. More than 200 persons are injured, and tens of thousands are without power.

      November 17–25, Central Morocco. Heavy rain triggers flash floods in the region that claim the lives of at least 25 persons.

      December 4–5, North and South Carolina. In one of the worst ice storms to strike the Carolinas in years, widespread power outages leave some 1.8 million customers without electricity; the storm, which brings heavy snow as well as ice to some areas, is blamed for at least 22 deaths.

      December 8–9, Angra dos Reis, Braz. Mud slides brought on by torrential rains bury numerous houses; at least 34 persons are dead, and 40 are missing.

      Late December, Northern Bangladesh. Unseasonably cold weather claims the lives of at least 100 persons by year's end.

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