Definition

• n. - The existing system of things; the world of matter, or of matter and mind; the creation; the universe.
• n. - The personified sum and order of causes and effects; the powers which produce existing phenomena, whether in the total or in detail; the agencies which carry on the processes of creation or of being; -- often conceived of as a single and separate entity, embodying the total of all finite agencies and forces as disconnected from a creating or ordering intelligence.
• n. - The established or regular course of things; usual order of events; connection of cause and effect.
• n. - Conformity to that which is natural, as distinguished from that which is artifical, or forced, or remote from actual experience.
• n. - The sum of qualities and attributes which make a person or thing what it is, as distinct from others; native character; inherent or essential qualities or attributes; peculiar constitution or quality of being.
• n. - Hence: Kind, sort; character; quality.