What does "nativity" mean?
Nativity: These in their dark nativity the deep Shall yield us, pregnant with infernal flame. Milton.
Additional senses
- 2.(Fine Arts) A picture representing or symbolizing the early infancy of Christ. The simplest form is the babe in a rude cradle, and the heads of an ox and an ass to express the stable in which he was born.
- 3.(Astrol.) A representation of the positions of the heavenly bodies as the moment of one's birth, supposed to indicate his future destinies; a horoscope. The Nativity, the birth or birthday of Christ; Christmas day. -- To cast, or calculate, one's nativity (Astrol.), to find out and represent the position of the heavenly bodies at the time of one's birth.
Sources
- Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913 edition (public domain, via GCIDE / Project Gutenberg).
- Canonical URL: https://worddirectanswers.com/answers/what-does-nativity-mean
- Steward: Jason Burns
- Published: 2026-07-17T00:00:00-07:00 · Modified: 2026-07-17T00:00:00-07:00