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• nativity
  nativity

  noun

  birth.
• Nativity
  Nativity

  noun

  the birth of Jesus Christ

nativity

American  

[nuh-tiv-i-tee, ney-] / nəˈtɪv ɪ ti, neɪ- /

noun

• nativities
  plural

1. birth.

2. birth with reference to place or attendant circumstances.

   of Irish nativity.

3. (initial capital letter) the birth of Christ.

4. (initial capital letter) the church festival commemorating the birth of Christ; Christmas.

5. (initial capital letter) a representation of the birth of Christ, as in art.

6. Astrology. a horoscope of a person's birth.

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Nativity ¹ British  

/ nəˈtɪvɪtɪ /

noun

1. the birth of Jesus Christ

2. the feast of Christmas as a commemoration of this

3. 1. an artistic representation of the circumstances of the birth of Christ

   2. ( as modifier )

      a Nativity play

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nativity ² British  

/ nəˈtɪvɪtɪ /

noun

1. birth or origin, esp in relation to the circumstances surrounding it

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Nativity Cultural  

1. The birth of Jesus, described in two of the Gospels (Matthew and Luke). When Jesus' parents, Mary and Joseph, traveled from Nazareth to Bethlehem to be counted in a government census, they found that there was no room for them in the local inn. Mary gave birth to Jesus in a common stable and laid him in a manger (a feeding trough for livestock). Christians (see also Christian) believe that Jesus' birth fulfilled many Old Testament prophecies and was attended by miraculous events, such as a star above Bethlehem that drew local shepherds as well as the Wise Men, or Magi, from a distant land.

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Usage

What does nativity mean? Nativity refers to the birth of Jesus, the central figure of the religion of Christianity. Christians celebrate the Nativity during Christmas, and the word is sometimes used as another name for Christmas. Nativity can also be used to refer to an artistic depiction of the birth of Jesus, such as in a play (also called a Nativity play) or a scene involving statues of the figures at the birth (also called a Nativity scene). In all of these uses, the word is usually capitalized. The word nativity is also used in some more general ways, though they are less common. It can simply mean a birth, especially in relation to the circumstances of it. It can also be used to refer to a person’s birthplace, as in Zoe often mentions her Greek nativity. More specifically, in the context of astrology, one’s nativity is the horoscope of their birth. Example: Every year at Christmas we create a live Nativity in our front yard, with our dog playing the part of a sheep.

Discover More

The Nativity is celebrated at Christmas. We date our present historical era from the birth of Jesus, referring to the years before his birth as b.c. (before Christ) and the years after his birth as a.d. (anno Domini, a Latin phrase meaning “in the year of the Lord”).

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• nativities
  plural

Etymology

Origin of nativity

before 1150; Middle English nativite < Middle French < Late Latin nātīvitāt- (stem of nātīvitās; see native, -ity); replacing late Old English nativiteth < Old French nativited < Late Latin, as above

Explanation

Nativity is a fancy way to say "birth." If you were born in Baltimore, you can say that's the location of your nativity. Being born is a person's nativity, but the noun is most frequently used when Christians talk specifically about the birth of Jesus Christ. If a new mother says, "My baby's nativity was beautiful!" people might not know what she means. Nativity comes from the French word nativité, which also means "birth." The Latin root word is nativus, "born or native."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

nativity Nativity nativities

“Tike” Miller, the Illinois inventor of the Mold-A-Rama, was inspired by a broken figurine in his nativity scene.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 10, 2026

The question, as usual, is whether people are too busy celebrating the story of the nativity to make room at the inn.

From MarketWatch ● Dec. 24, 2025

A baby Jesus has been stolen from a Christmas nativity scene in Brussels which sparked an online furore over its faceless depictions of Christianity's holy family.

From Barron's ● Dec. 2, 2025

"The resources for the nativity play never arrived," she said.

From BBC ● Jan. 3, 2025

The nativity set isn’t that weird, especially since June doesn’t know we keep it up all year long.

From "P.S. I Miss You" by Jen Petro-Roy

Today, visitors enter via the ornate Nativity façade, on the church’s eastern side.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026

These are the Annunciation, the Nativity and the Adoration of the Magi; Jesus praying on the Mount of Olives, the Crucifixion and the Lamentation; and, finally, the Resurrection, Ascension and Pentecost.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 26, 2025

"I might have played second shepherd in the Nativity."

From BBC ● Oct. 7, 2025

Puritans also did not oppose commemorating the Nativity on principle, even if they objected to its practice at the time.

From Salon ● Dec. 24, 2024

At midnight on Christmas Eve they stood with their parents in the long line at the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem.

From "Habibi" by Naomi Shihab Nye

Under it, principals who choose not to put on nativities could be fined.

From BBC ● Dec. 21, 2023

Garabedian assumes the fatherly supporting role of St. Joseph, the carpenter, shown in the background building a domestic shelter reminiscent of those in Renaissance nativities by Giotto or Botticelli.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 1, 2023

Other nativities gone wrong include the Tennessee play that saw a girl dressed as a sheep kidnap baby Jesus.

From The Guardian ● Dec. 18, 2017

DEC. 2-4 Exhibit of 500 ethnic and traditional nativities from 109 different countries and territories around the world; 10 a.m.-7 p.m.

From Seattle Times ● Nov. 20, 2016

At 8 o'clock the following morning we dropped anchor at Port Said, a populous city of Arabia with 30,000 inhabitants, much diversified as to nativities, Turks, Assyrians, Jews, and Greeks being largely represented.

From Shadow and Light An Autobiography with Reminiscences of the Last and Present Century by Booker T. Washington

Related Words

• beginning
• childbirth
• creation
• delivery