What does "nativity" mean?
Someone's birth; the place, time and circumstances of a birth.
Nativity
/nəˈtɪvɪti/ name, noun
name, noun ·Moderate ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: Someone's birth; the place, time and circumstances of a birth.
- Grammar: nativity is listed as name, noun.
- Nearest alternatives: birth, nascence, aboriginality, accouchement.
- Useful contrasts: death.
- Usage evidence: True democracy makes no enquiry about the color of skin, or the place of nativity, wherever it sees man, it recognizes a being endowed by his Creator with original inalienable rights.
How to use "nativity"
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- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "nativity" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
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Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "nativity" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "nativity" as the right word for your sentence.
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Compare nearby meanings
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Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "nativity" is acting as name, noun in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
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3. Confirm with context
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Final meaning check
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When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 Someone's birth; the place, time and circumstances of a birth. countable, dated, uncountable
"1483, William Caxton, Prologue to The Golden Legend, The Holbein Society’s Fac-simile Reprints, London: The Holbein Society, 1878, […] me semeth to be a souerayn wele to Incyte & exhorte men & wymmen to kepe them from slouthe & ydlenesse & to lete to be vnderstonden to suche peple as been not lettered the natyuytees, lyues, the passyons, the myracles and the dethe of the holy saynts […]"
- 2 the theological doctrine that Jesus Christ had no human father; Christians believe that Jesus's birth fulfilled Old Testament prophecies and was attended by miracles; the Nativity is celebrated at Christmas wordnet
- 3 Someone's birth considered as a means of astrology; a horoscope associated with a person's birth. countable, uncountable
"You ſtarres that raignd at my natiuitie, / whoſe influence hath alotted death and hel, / Now draw vp Fauſtus like a foggy miſt, / Into the intrailes of yon labring cloude, / That when you vomite foorth into the ayre, / My limbes may iſſue from your ſmoaky mouthes, / So that my ſoule may but aſcend to heauen: […]"
- 4 the event of being born wordnet
- 5 The birth of Jesus. also, countable, uncountable
"[…] towards the end of dinner […] there is an hymn sung, varied according to the invention of him that composeth it […] but the subject of it is (always) the praises of Adam and Noah and Abraham; whereof the former two peopled the world, and the last was the Father of the Faithful: concluding ever with a thanksgiving for the nativity of our Saviour, in whose birth the births of all are only blessed."
Show 5 more definitions
- 6 The festival celebrating the birth of Jesus, Christmas Day; the festival celebrating the birth of the Virgin Mary or the birth of Saint John the Baptist. also, countable, uncountable
"Be it therefore enacted by the authority of this present parliament, that the said statute of repeal, and every thing therein contained […] shall be void and of none effect, from, and after the feast of the Nativity of S. John Baptist, next coming."
- 7 A set of figurines used to create a nativity scene. also, countable, uncountable
"He would think of us when he was abroad and in all sorts of places where a daddy might reasonably forget his little boys; he brought us back delightful flat tin soldiers marching, cooking, camping, in oval wood boxes from Paris, and entertaining earthenware Nativities with kings, shepherds, and irrelevant crowds complete, from Italy."
- 8 Origin; founding. countable, figuratively, uncountable
"1754, David Hume, Essays and Treatises on Several Subjects, London: A. Millar, 3rd edition, Volume 4, Discourse 11, “Of the Protestant Succession,” p. 247, […] ’tis justly to be apprehended, that persecutions will put a speedy period to the Protestant religion in the place of its nativity."
- 9 Place of origin; place to which a species is native. countable, uncountable
"For a long time I believed the common yarrow to be introduced, as the country had been settled at least ten years before I saw it, but my belief in that is shaken, as I never sent for flowers by friends, when they went to an unknown region, but they inevitably brought yarrow. I have had it sent from Texas, Utah, Pike’s Peak and Long’s Peak, Colorado, and at last from the Alps and Germany; so its nativity is very uncertain."
- 10 The quality of being native or innate. countable, uncountable
"Much difference of opinion has prevailed with reference to the genuine nativity of this species [Vinca minor] in Britain."
Proper Noun
- 1 The birth of Jesus as described in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke.
- 2 Christmas. broadly
Antonyms
Example
"True democracy makes no enquiry about the color of skin, or the place of nativity, wherever it sees man, it recognizes a being endowed by his Creator with original inalienable rights."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "nativity"?
Common synonyms include: birth, nascence, aboriginality, accouchement, aspect, astrodiagnosis.
How do you use "nativity" in a sentence?
True democracy makes no enquiry about the color of skin, or the place of nativity, wherever it sees man, it recognizes a being endowed by his Creator with original inalienable rights.
How do you pronounce "nativity"?
Pronounced /nəˈtɪvɪti/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Middle English nativite, from Anglo-Norman nativite, Middle French nativite, and their source, Latin nātīvitās (“birth”). By surface analysis, native + -ity. See also naïveté.
Etymology 2
See nativity.