Natural Philosophy
Preserved but no longer current.
See EXPERIMENTAL. Naught, Nought These are merely variants of the same word, naught representing A.S. na whil and nought, no whit. In most senses they are interchangeable; but nowadays naught is the more common form, except for the name of the cipher, which is usually nought.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “Natural Philosophy” mean?
See EXPERIMENTAL. Naught, Nought These are merely variants of the same word, naught representing A.S. na whil and nought, no whit. In most senses they are interchangeable; but nowadays naught is the more common form, except for the name of the cipher, which is usually nought.
Is “Natural Philosophy” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.