Definition of Naturism from the International Naturist Federation

[EltonJ]

WHAT IS NATURISM?
"Naturism is a way of life in harmony with nature characterised by the practice of communal nudity with the intention of encouraging self-respect, respect for others and for the environment".

[Mosquito_Bait]

A large portion of the American population doesn't understand the meaning of the word "naturist". The word gets confused with "naturalist". There is no such confusion regarding the word "nudist".

[Mosquito_Bait]

WHAT IS NATURISM?
"Naturism is a way of life in harmony with nature characterised by the practice of communal nudity with the intention of encouraging self-respect, respect for others and for the environment".

That definition doesn't mesh with the definitions seen in online dictionaries.

Cambridge Dictionary
Naturism - the belief that it is good and healthy to wear no clothes, or the activity of doing this.

Oxford Languages
Naturism - 1) the practice of wearing no clothes in a vacation camp or for other leisure activities; nudism. 2) the worship of nature or natural objects.

Merriam-Webster
Naturism - 1a) naturalism sense 1 (action, inclination, or thought based only on natural desires and instincts). 1b) naturalism sense 2 (theory denying that an event or object has a supernatural significance). 2) the worship of the forces of nature. 3) nudism.

Note that Oxford Languages and Merriam-Webster offer definitions of "naturism" that are conflated with "naturalism" and are distinctly separate from "nudism".

[EltonJ]

A large portion of the American population doesn't understand the meaning of the word "naturist". The word gets confused with "naturalist". There is no such confusion regarding the word "nudist".

Yes, there is a lot of confusion. Nudist is the more correct term.

[Mosquito_Bait]

My theory is that the word "naturism" is used because either 1) "nudism" is considered to sound too crude, or 2) there is a deliberate desire to mislead the uninitiated - only those who are already members of the club need to understand.

Okay, I'll get off my soapbox now.

[boston_naturist]

None of the above, folks.

The origins of the different terms have to do with their country of origination.

The term nudists is American in origin. Ditto nudism. Those were, and are the words (generally) used in the United States.

The term naturists is used in most other English-speaking areas. Ditto naturism.

Adding to the confusion -

- There is more international communication -- the internet, and mass media is now largely being able to circumvent international boundaries.

- The major United States organization = American Association for Nude Recreation, NEVER used the word "nudist" to describe itself. In past times, it was the American SUNBATHING Assocation. But they always avoided "nudist" in their title. A rival organization that ran from the 1950s into the 1990s DID call itself the National Nudist Council, but its influence fizzled out in the early 1980s and it was completely gone by the late 90's (long story, for a different day)

- Adding to the confusion - at least here in the United States - in 1980, the Naturist Society was founded - which primarily advocated nude recreation on public lands, but may have had a secondary objective of advocating the opening of nudist park gates to all. So Americans were confused into thinking that nudists and naturists were two different things.

If you speak GLOBALLY - nudists and naturists are the SAME thing. Just like in America, your car's hood is referred to as its bonnet, in other English speaking areas. And those straps that hold up your pants are suspenders in the United States, but braces in England.

And on and on ... and so it goes.

[Mosquito_Bait]

Perhaps the British followed the lead of the French in preferring "naturist" over "nudist".

I spent some time with Google Translate. It seems the Romance languages (French, Italian, Spanish, ...) all have variants of the words "nudist", "naturist", and "naturalist" with the latter two terms having definitions that can be conflated.

German is less confusing. The term "Nudist" exists, but the preferred term is FKK-Anhänger or Freikörperkultur-Anhänger, which translates as "free body culture follower". Naturist also translates to FKK-Anhänger. Naturalist translates to Naturforscher.

Greek also is less confusing. Nudist and naturist translate to γυμνιστής (gymnistis). Naturalist translates to φυσιοδίφης (fysiodífis).

[Mosquito_Bait]

Given that nudity is the natural state, and that we have to be taught to wear clothes, why should it even be necessary to have a word for "nudist"?

Atheists sometimes argue that there should be no need for the word "atheist" because it is the natural state. We are not born with an understanding of religion. Religion is something that is learned.

The analogy is sometimes made with stamp collecting. Have you ever felt compelled to explain that you are not a stamp collector? There is no word for a person who is not a stamp collector.