Word of the Day

: December 24, 2017

nativity

noun nuh-TIH-vuh-tee

What It Means

1 : the process or circumstances of being born; especially, capitalized : the birth of Jesus

2 : a horoscope at or of the time of one's birth

3 : the place of origin

nativity in Context

"The immutability of one's nativity may be why so many are drawn to astrology—according to a 2009 Harris Poll, a full 26 percent of Americans believe in astrology…." — Elijah Wolfson, The Atlantic, 15 Nov. 2013

"'Peace Child' presents the nativity as a historical event and yet speaks to us today through powerful imagery and challenging words to remind us that the true meaning of Christmas is peace." — Cathy SooHoo, The Chicago Daily Herald, 16 Nov. 2017

Did You Know?

Nativity is one of many words born of the Latin verb nasci, which means "to be born." The gestation of the word was a long one. Nasci developed in Latin into nativitas, meaning "birth," which passed through Anglo-French as nativité before entering English in the 14th century. Nativity has many siblings and cousins in our language; other terms of the lineage of nasci include cognate, innate, nascent, native, and renaissance.