natural history / whole story
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natural history
The scientific discipline concerned with the origin and development of nature, including geology, flora, and fauna.
Das Museum für Naturgeschichte hat eine beeindruckende Sammlung von Dinosaurierskeletten.
The Museum of Natural History has an impressive collection of dinosaur skeletons.
whole story
Colloquial and often humorous for a very long, complicated, and long-winded story or matter.
Er hat mir die ganze Naturgeschichte seiner Autopanne erzählt, das hat eine Ewigkeit gedauert.
He told me the whole story of his car breakdown; it took forever.
The word is made up of 'die Natur' (nature) and 'die Geschichte' (history/story). Depending on the context, it can mean the 'history of nature' (scientific) or a long 'Geschichte/Erzählung' (story/narrative) in colloquial speech.
Die Entstehung der Arten ist ein zentrales Thema der Naturgeschichte.
The origin of species is a central topic of natural history.
In its scientific meaning, the word is very often part of the name 'Museum für Naturgeschichte' (Museum of Natural History). This combination is a fixed expression.
Das Museum für Naturgeschichte in Wien ist weltberühmt.
The Museum of Natural History in Vienna is world-famous.
You can often recognize the colloquial meaning from the word 'ganze' ('die ganze Naturgeschichte' - the whole story). This refers to a long and complicated personal story, usually with a slightly annoyed or humorous undertone.
Ich wollte nur wissen, ob der Bus pünktlich war, und er erzählte mir die ganze Naturgeschichte seiner Fahrt.
I only wanted to know whether the bus was on time, and he told me the whole story of his journey.
This meaning of 'Naturgeschichte' (whole story) is purely colloquial. It is used in informal conversations to describe a story as overly long and detailed.
Bitte erspar mir die Naturgeschichte, sag einfach, was passiert ist!
Please spare me the whole story; just tell me what happened!
story / history
Geschichte is the neutral term for a story. In colloquial use, Naturgeschichte can also mean a story, but it humorously describes it as overly long, complicated, or long-winded. Without this evaluation, Geschichte is the better choice.
Aus seiner einfachen Reise wurde beim Erzählen eine endlose Naturgeschichte.
As he told it, his simple trip turned into an endless long-winded story.
Er erzählte uns eine lange Geschichte über seine Reise.
He told us a long story about his trip.
