nativityn.
/nəˈtɪvᵻti/, U.S. /nəˈtɪvᵻdi/ 1. Christian Church. The feast of the birth of Jesus (celebrated on 25 December); Christmas Day. Also (with modifying phrase): the feast of the birth of the Virgin Mary (celebrated on 8 September), or that of the birth of John the Baptist (celebrated on 24 June).
ΘΚΠ
society > faith > worship > liturgical year > feast, festival > specific Christian festivals > Christmas > [noun]
yulea900
yule-daya900
midwinter tideeOE
midwinterOE
Christmas DayOE
ChristmasOE
good tideOE
midwinter dayOE
Christenmasc1330
nativity1389
Nowellc1400
noel1435
pacea1450
Xmas1551
yule-tide1572
Christ-tide1581
Christmastide1590
Christmastime1617
yule time1787
Xmassing1788
festive season1794
Crimbo1928
Chrissie1946
society > faith > worship > liturgical year > feast, festival > specific Christian festivals > Nativity of Virgin (8 September) > [noun]
nativity1389
latter Lady in harvesta1642
lOE Anglo-Saxon Chron. (Laud) anno 1105 On þisum geare to Natiuiteð heold se cyng Heanrig his hired aet Windlesoran.
?c1225 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Cleo. C.vi) (1972) 301 Þe Natiuite. Seinte Michales dei.
c1330 (?a1300) Guy of Warwick (Auch.) p. 466 On a day bifor þe natiuite Of seyn Ion... Togider fouȝt þo barouns boþe.
1389 in J. T. Smith & L. T. Smith Eng. Gilds (1870) 14 Þe sunday aftir þe natiuite of oure lady.
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) 13186 (MED) Wod men at his natiuite [a1400 Fairf. atte saint Iones tide] To kirk be draun wit semble.
1465 in Manners & Househ. Expenses Eng. (1841) 302 The Munday next affter our Lady day the Natyvyte.
1509 Newbattle Coll. MSS (Edinb. Reg. House) At our lade day in herwist callit the natiuite.
1589 Voy. W. Towrson in R. Hakluyt Princ. Navigations i. 104 The 25. day, being the day of the natiuitie of Christ.
a1600 ( Rec. Bluemantle Pursuivant (Julius) in C. L. Kingsford Eng. Hist. Lit. 15th Cent. (1913) 381 On our Lady day the natyvete..he had word yat the Duc forward was to yen in Normandy.
1617 in T. Thomson Acts & Proc. Kirk of Scotl. (1845) III. 1141 Anent preaching upon the dayes of the nativity, passion [etc.]..of our lord.
1659 H. L'Estrange Alliance Divine Offices 136 The Nativity of our Lord Jesus Christ was now at hand.
1704 R. Nelson Compan. Festivals & Fasts i. xxiv. 253 Advent Sundays..The four Sundays that precede the great Festival of our Saviour's Nativity.
1765 C. Smart Hymns xix, in tr. Psalms David 174 (heading) The nativity of St. John the Baptist.
1838 Catholic Directory (verso title page) Feasts observed in England and Scotland..8 Sept. Nativity of B.V.M.
1883 Encycl. Brit. XV. 592/2 The Nativity of Mary..was appointed to be observed by the Synod of Salzburg in 800.
1910 Encycl. Brit. I. 850/2 It was delivered on St. Thomas's day (1609) before the feast of Christ's nativity, and in..the twelve days ensuing.
1989 J. Campbell-Kease Compan. Local Hist. Res. 321 1 January was also used as the octave of the Nativity (Christmas) in the first centuries of the Christian era, and later as marking the Feast of the Circumcision.
2.
a. The birth of Jesus. Also (usually with modifying phrase): the birth of the Virgin Mary or of John the Baptist.
ΘΚΠ
society > faith > aspects of faith > Bible, Scripture > biblical events > [noun] > nativity
nativityc1350
birth story1893
c1350 Apocalypse St. John: A Version (Harl. 874) (1961) 72 Þe Natiuite of oure lorde, þe passioun, þe resureccioun, & þe ascensioun.
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) 11383 (MED) Þis kinges thre þar wai þai tok A tuelmoth ar þe natiuite.
?a1425 Mandeville's Trav. (Egerton) (1889) 43 Þare schewed þe aungell þe natiuitee of sayn Iohn Baptist.
c1485 ( G. Hay Bk. Law of Armys (2005) 1 Before the natiuitee of Criste.
a1500 (c1340) R. Rolle Comm. on Canticles (Univ. Oxf. 64) in Psalter (1884) 507 Lord, this natiuite of the maydyn is thi werk.
1526 Pylgrimage of Perfection (de Worde) f. 25v To do honour and homage to his grace in his blessed natiuite.
1530 Myroure Oure Ladye (Fawkes) (1873) ii. 212 How men oughte to worshyp her [sc. the Virgin Mary's] natyuyte in erthe.
1585 Abp. E. Sandys Serm. xiv. 253 At the time of his natiuitie..there was peace amongst all nations.
c1660 J. Evelyn Diary anno 1644 (1955) II. 290 The pupetry in the Church of the Minerva, representing the nativity.
1678 H. Vaughan Thalia Rediviva 54 Poor Galile! thou can'st not be The place for his Nativity.
1719 D. Waterland Vindic. Christ's Divinity 158 The perfect Nativity..of the Word: who had been, as it were, quiescent or un-operating from all Eternity, till [etc.].
1757 tr. J. G. Keyssler Trav. II. 421 The basso-relievo representing the nativity of Christ.
1844 tr. M. T. Asmar Mem. Babylonian Princess II. 101 The house..in which St. John the Baptist was born. The place of his nativity is ornamented with magnificent bas reliefs.
1861 W. H. Mill Observ. Gospel (ed. 2) ii. ii.172 On the system of the mythists, these purely Jewish circumstances of the Nativity should have been told by the Hebrew Gospel.
1926 Ladies' Home Jrnl. Dec. 82/2 The putz is simply the pictured story of the Nativity, built near or at the base of the Christmas tree.
1993 M. Glasscoe Eng. Medieval Mystics (BNC) 93 The betrayal remembered at Matins is juxtaposed with the Nativity.
b. A work of art representing the birth of Jesus; the scene of the birth of Jesus represented in, or as part of, a work of art.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > painting and drawing > painting > painting according to subject > [noun] > religious painting > picture by subject
majestyc1450
the Visitation (of our Lady)1498
Our Lady Piety1533
annunciation1556
nativity1646
Pietàc1660
noli me tangerea1684
virgina1684
glory1708
flagellation1728
scourging1757
Mater Dolorosa1800
crucifixion1841
hortus conclusus1852
Hodegetria1880
Gethsemane1901
anastasis1995
1646 J. Gregory Notes & Observ. xxii. 108 So the Tradition, and so the Masters describe the Night-peice of this Nativity.
c1660 J. Evelyn Diary anno 1644 (1955) II. 235 2 famous Pieces of Bassano, the one a Vulcan, the other a Nativity.
1785 H. Walpole Let. 6 Oct. Sir Joshua's washy Virtues make the Nativity a dark spot from the darkness of the Shepherds.
1876 Encycl. Brit. IV. 653/2 Among his..pieces is a Nativity, representing the angels around the infant Christ.
1940 A. Mee Norfolk 174 The best of the glass is a lovely Nativity with the Shepherds adoring.
1991 J. Kirkup Poet could not but be Gay (BNC) 170 One of our poems was about the great carved tympanum over the main door of the Catedral Nueva, an incredibly detailed, deeply undercarved Nativity in two tall arched panels.
3. † b. A person's birthday (in early uses perhaps simply sense 3a). Obsolete.† d. of one's nativity: belonging to one by birth, natural to one. Obsolete. rare. [In countenance (also face) of one's nativity, after post-classical Latin vultus nativitatis in the Vulgate Bible (James 1:23).]
a. A person's birth. Now somewhat archaic.Usually with reference to the time or place of birth, rather than to the actual process of being born.
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > source or principle of life > birth > [noun]
birdeOE
birtha1200
i-borenessc1225
bearingc1275
nativityc1375
progressionc1385
gettingc1480
natality1483
naissance1490
falling1533–4
nascence1570
natitial1612
progermination1648
happy event1737
engendure1821
arrival1830
birthhood1867
interesting event1899
c1375 G. Chaucer Monk's Tale 3206 Sampson..was anunciat By the aungel longe er his natiuitee.
a1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis (Fairf.) iii. 77 He which hath the child begete..The time of his nativite..Awaiteth.
a1425 (c1384) Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Corpus Oxf.) (1850) Ezek. xxix. 14 Y shal sette hem to gydre..in to the loond of her natiuyte.
?c1450 Life St. Cuthbert (1891) 14 (MED) In þe first part sall ȝe se His nation and hes natyuyte.
1500 in G. Neilson & H. Paton Acts Lords of Council Civil Causes (1918) II. 453 Nocht of compleite aige of xxj yeris fra the day of his natevite and borne of his moder.
1535 Bible (Coverdale) Ecclus. xxiii. 14 Lest thou..wyshe not to haue bene borne, and so curse the daye of thy natiuite.
1569 E. Fenton tr. P. Boaistuau Certaine Secrete Wonders Nature f. 17 Maruell not so much at any thing, as at the strange natiuitie of the prophet Marlin, who persuade absolutlie that he was begotten of a diuell.
1612 T. Taylor Αρχὴν Ἁπάντων: Comm. Epist. Paul to Titus iii. 5 Many euen old men,..who know no nativity but one of Adam and Eve.
a1682 Sir T. Browne Let. to Friend (1690) 4 If it could be made out, that such who have easie Nativities have commonly hard Deaths.
1712 M. Henry Reform. Serm. in Wks. (1853) II. 489/1 Hearty well-wishers to the land of their nativity.
1771 E. Ledwich Antiquitates Sarisburienses 235 William Horman had his nativity in Newstreet, Sarum.
1820 P. B. Shelley Fiordispina 14 Which could not be But by dissevering their nativity.
1886 Dict. National Biogr. VIII. 12/1 He was shown the house of Robert Burton's nativity.
1922 J. Joyce Ulysses ii. xiv. [Oxen of the Sun] 391 All the cases of human nativity which Aristotle has classified in his masterpiece.
1993 Albuquerque (New Mexico) Jrnl. 11 Feb. a2/2 I left the state when I was 4½, but it is the place of my nativity.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > particular time > an anniversary > [noun] > birthday
birthdayc1384
nativitya1393
native day1546
birthnight1637
fête day1877
b-day1938
a1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis (Fairf.) vi. 1826 (MED) In that Cite thanne was The queene, which Olimpias Was hote, and with sollempnete The feste of hir nativite..was thanne holde.
c1395 G. Chaucer Squire's Tale 45 He leet the feste of his natiuitee Doon crien thurgh out Sarray his citee.
a1500 (?a1450) Gesta Romanorum (Harl. 7333) (1879) 105 (MED) The day of the nativite of the Emperour..he clepid Gwido to him & seyd..‘byd al my frendes in the Empyre that thei Ete with me.’
c. figurative and in extended use: the creation, beginning, or origin of something.
ΘΚΠ
the world > existence and causation > causation > source or origin > [noun]
welleOE
mothereOE
ordeOE
wellspringeOE
fathereOE
headeOE
oreOE
wellspringOE
rootc1175
morea1200
beginningc1200
head wella1325
sourcec1374
principlea1382
risinga1382
springinga1382
fountain14..
springerc1410
nativity?a1425
racinea1425
spring1435
headspring?a1439
seminaryc1440
originationc1443
spring wellc1450
sourdre1477
primordialc1487
naissance1490
wellhead?1492
offspringa1500
conduit-head1517
damc1540
springhead1547
principium1550
mint1555
principal1555
centre1557
head fountain1563
parentage1581
rise1589
spawna1591
fount1594
parent1597
taproot1601
origin1604
fountainhead1606
radix1607
springa1616
abundary1622
rist1622
primitive1628
primary1632
land-spring1642
extraction1655
upstart1669
progenerator1692
fontala1711
well-eye1826
first birth1838
ancestry1880
Quelle1893
?a1425 MS Hunterian 95 f. 103v He maye not be liȝtlie knowen in þe begynnynge of his [sc. a cancerous growth's] natiuite.
c1425 J. Lydgate Troyyes Bk. (Augustus A.iv) ii. 5441 (MED) Þis lady [sc. Diana], with þe sonne her broþer, Of þis Ile haue lordschip..Only for þei at her natiuite Schewid her liȝt firste in þat contre.
1535 Bible (Coverdale) Wisd. vi. 22 As for wyszdome,..I..wil seke her out from ye begynnynge of the natiuyte.
1600 W. Shakespeare Midsummer Night's Dream iii. ii. 125 Looke when I vow, I weepe: and vowes so borne, In their natiuitie all truth appeares. View more context for this quotation
1602 J. Marston Hist. Antonio & Mellida Induct. sig. A4 I was neuer worse fitted since the natiuitie of my Actorshippe.
1646 Sir T. Browne Pseudodoxia Epidemica i. vi. 22 Plagiarie had not its nativitie with printing.
1652 J. French York-shire Spaw vi. 56 For the better illustration of this nativity of salts.
1690 T. Burnet Rev. Theory of Earth 40 Here you see the birth and nativity of the sea, or of Oceanus, describ'd.
1798 Columbian Centinel 29 Dec. 2/4 ‘The Heirs of the Pilgrims’ Celebrated on Saturday Dec. 22, the 177th Anniversary of the landing of their Forefathers at Plymouth Rock..the day of the nativity of New-England.
1831 C. Lamb Newspapers 35 Years Ago in Elia 2nd Ser. The jealous waters..reluctant to have the humble spot of their nativity revealed.
1885 J. Ruskin Præterita I. iv. 124 The native architectural instinct is instantly developed in these,—highly notable for any one who cares to note such nativities.
1944 K. Rexroth Phoenix & Tortoise 51 Let us celebrate the daily Recurrent nativity of love.
1992 M. McGuckian Marconi's Cottage 85 I have a hundred ways of turning This year of the world's redemption Into an ominous nativity.
ΘΚΠ
the world > existence and causation > existence > intrinsicality or inherence > [adjective] > innate or natural
i-cundeeOE
fleshly971
kindlyOE
kindc1175
naturalc1275
kindc1390
innatea1420
nativea1425
inborn1513
innative1513
habitual1526
ingenerate1531
instincta1538
innated1545
inset1545
of one's nativity1582
inbreda1592
connatural1599
prognatec1600
ingenious1601
ingenit1604
congenite1610
connativea1618
intuitive1621
infusive1630
habituous1633
veined1633
genial1646
connatea1652
relollacean1654
relollaceous1657
relolleous1662
congenial1664
complanted1668
ingrown1670
ingenerated1677
unborrowed1704
cogenite1712
born1741
naturable1771
unacquired1793
congenerous1813
congenital1848
ingrain1852
indigenousa1864
ingenital1886
wired-in1957
1582 Bible (Rheims) James i. 23 A man beholding the countenance of his nativitie in a glasse.
1660 N. Ingelo Bentivolio & Urania iv. 196 I see the face of my Nativity.
4. Astrology. Birth considered astrologically; a horoscope. Now rare (archaic).
ΘΚΠ
the world > the universe > astrology > judicial astrology > horoscope > [noun] > nativity
nativitya1393
birth1480
genesisc1480
nation1487
geniture1599
scheme1612
genethliaca1620
birth paper1824
a1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis (Fairf.) i. 55 Upon here nativite Such was the constellacion [etc.].
a1450 (?c1421) J. Lydgate Siege Thebes (Arun.) (1911) 217 Mercurye..ȝaf... Vnto this kyng at His natiuite..that he shuld be Most excellent be craft of Rethorik.
a1450 ( G. Chaucer Treat. Astrolabe [part] ii. §4 75 Yit is the planete in horoscopo, be it in nativyte or in eleccion.
c1485 ( G. Hay Bk. Gouernaunce of Princis (1993) xxxvi. 115 Ffor the body of the persone yat is borne, folowis the nature of the body of the sternis and planetis yat concurris jn his natiuitee.
1508 W. Dunbar Ballade Barnard Stewart in Poems (1998) I. 179 Hie furius Mars..Rong in the hevin at thyne natiuite.
1563 W. Baldwin et al. Myrrour for Magistrates (new ed.) Somerset vii A straunge natiuitie in calculation.
1603 H. Crosse Vertues Common-wealth sig. N3 In like maner some are busied in Nativities, Destinies, Dreames, Palmestrie, and Phisiognamie.
1630 tr. G. Botero Relations Famous Kingdomes World (rev. ed.) 15 Those who have Mars Lord in their Nativities, become either Souldiers or Trades-men.
1660 S. Pepys Diary 24 Oct. (1970) I. 274 Mr. Booker..did tell me a great many fooleries what may be done by Nativitys.
1708 J. Swift Predict. for 1708 5 I have consulted the Star of his Nativity by my own Rules.
1802 E. Forster tr. Arabian Nights IV. 81 The king called an assembly of all the astrologers.., and ordered them to calculate the nativity of his child.
1815 W. Scott Guy Mannering I. iii. 41 I will calculate his nativity according to the rule of the Triplicities.
1896 Dict. National Biogr. XLV. 406/1 A special commission met..with instigating Stacy and another necromancer to calculate the nativities of the king and Prince of Wales.
a1963 S. Plath Crossing Water (1971) 56 The astrologer..'ll be rich in a year... Selling the Welsh and English mothers Nativities at two-and-six.
1993 P. Ackroyd House of Dr. Dee (1994) i. 31 They say that you constellate and planet, cast nativities and generally prognosticate. That you employ charms and exorcisms.
5. † b. Family origin, esp. with reference to status, title, rights, etc. Obsolete.
a. The conditions or place of one's birth, esp. as determining nationality; one's nationality, as determined by place of birth. Now somewhat archaic.
ΘΚΠ
the world > people > nations > native people > [noun] > birth determining nationality
nativity?a1475
?a1475 (?a1425) in tr. R. Higden Polychron. (Harl. 2261) (1882) VIII. App. 447 (MED) The cardinalls..electe an olde man to be pope, a Roman by nativite.
1592 W. West Symbolæogr.: 1st Pt. §46 l Natural capacitie by birth, which euerie liege subject being borne within her Maiesties dominions hath by his natiuitie.
a1661 T. Fuller Worthies Linc. 154 There is no Constat (though very much Probability) of his English Nativity.
1785 W. Paley Princ. Moral & Polit. Philos. vi. iii. 419 The circumstance of nativity, that is, of claiming, and treating as subjects, all those who are born within the confines of their dominions.
a1854 Ld. Cockburn Memorials (1856) v. 296 He owed this to his Scotch nativity and education.
1870 R. Anderson Hist. Missions Amer. Board II. xx. 161 His Irish nativity, and consequent right to receive British protection.
1886 T. Hardy Mayor of Casterbridge II. xi. 150 By reason of Farfrae's comparative youth and his Scottish nativity..[his election] had an interest far beyond the ordinary.
1894 ‘M. Twain’ Pudd'nhead Wilson xii. 156 This superiority was exalted to supremacy when a person of such nativity could also prove descent from the First Families of that great commonwealth.
a1911 D. G. Phillips Susan Lenox (1917) I. xvi. 278 ‘Color white, I suppose. Nativity?’.. ‘English,’ said she.
1994 E. L. Doctorow Waterworks 85 His latest humiliation was to be in charge of the office that certified deaths in the city by age, sex, race, nativity, and cause—zymotic, constitutional, or sudden.
ΘΚΠ
society > society and the community > kinship or relationship > lineage or descent > [noun]
kinc892
strindc900
i-cundeOE
bloodOE
kindredOE
birtha1250
strainc1275
gesta1300
offspring?a1300
lineagea1330
descentc1330
linec1330
progenya1382
generationc1384
engendrurec1390
ancestry?a1400
genealogya1400
kind?a1400
stranda1400
coming?a1425
bedc1430
descencec1443
descension1447
ligneea1450
originc1450
family1474
originala1475
extraction1477
nativityc1485
parentelea1492
stirpc1503
stem?c1550
race1563
parentage1565
brood1590
ancientry1596
descendance1599
breeding1600
descendancy1603
delineation1606
extract1631
ancestory1650
agnation1782
havage1799
engendure1867
c1485 ( G. Hay Bk. Knychthede (1993) viii. 52 Gentill men yat..has bot honour and worschip of thair awin birth and natiuitee.
?1545 H. Rhodes Bk. Nurture sig. Ciiiv A gentylman mercyful a chorle spyteful..sheweth theyr natyuyte.
1587 Sir P. Sidney & A. Golding tr. P. de Mornay Trewnesse Christian Relig. xxiv. 514 (415) Thereby they were certified of their originall natiuitie.
1589 R. Greene Menaphon sig. G2 Whereupon..solitarie walke by his countenance to calculate his Natiuitie, and measure his birth by his beautie.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > subjection > slavery or bondage > [noun] > condition of being born in bondage
nativity1609
1609 J. Skene tr. Regiam Majestatem 91 The third kinde of nativitie, or bondage.
1609 J. Skene tr. Regiam Majestatem 91 Gif he..flees away fra his maister, or denyes to him his nativitie.
1880 W. F. Skene Celtic Scotl. III. 221 There are several kinds of nativity or bondage.
7. Botany. Native status, indigenousness (of a plant).
ΘΚΠ
the world > people > nations > native people > [noun] > fact or quality of being native
indigenate1762
nativeness1853
autochthonism1856
nativity1869
indigenity1895
1869 H. Trimen & W. T. T. Dyer Flora Middlesex 123 Mr. Watson..seems to doubt the nativity of this species.
1912 J. W. White Flora of Bristol 365 According to Nyman the region of nativity for P. fragrans is restricted to Southern Italy, Sicily and Sardinia.
1937 A. H. Wolley-Dod Flora Sussex 63 The fact of its having been unknown to all the older botanists gives ground for suspicion of its nativity in Sussex.
1966 New Phytologist 65 119 A few [plants], which we consider probably native, were having doubts cast on their nativity.
1999 Euphytica 110 21 The high level of genetic diversity prevalent among the Indian collections is probably indicative of the nativity of this crop species.
Compounds
C1. † nativity broth n. Obsolete rare† nativity-ceremony n. Obsolete rare
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > food > dishes and prepared food > soup or pottage > [noun] > other soups
breec1000
mortressc1387
cretone?a1400
mortrelc1400
primrosea1450
water-kale?a1500
white broth?1537
plum broth1614
mutton broth1615
veal brotha1625
nettle-kale?c1625
China-broth1628
bisque1647
beer-broth1648
dilligrout1662
nativity broth1674
sowdyc1700
mandarin broth1701
white soup1708
soup-vermicell1724
soup-meagre1733
burgoo1743
sago-gruel1743
soup maigre1754
vermicelli soup1769
vermicelli1771
noodle soup1779
mock turtle soup1783
pepper-water1783
mulligatawny1784
powsowdie1787
macaroni soup1789
bird's nest soup1806
smiggins1825
garbure1829
pish-pash1834
laksa1846
sancocho1851
ajiaco1856
pepper soup1860
liquorice-soup1864
mock turtle1876
borsch1884
petite marmite1890
whey-brose1894
rassolnik1899
lokshen soup1900
menudo1904
hoosh1905
sinigang1912
waterzooi1915
Cullen Skink1916
swallow's nest soup1920
mizutaki1933
rasam1933
pasta fazool1935
pho1935
pasta fagioli1951
stracciatella1954
solyanka1958
tom yam1960
mannish water1968
pasta e fagioli1968
ribollita1968
tom yam kung1969
1674 T. Flatman Belly God 107 There is your French Pottage, Nativity broth, Yet that of Fetter lane exceeds them both.
ΚΠ
1665 G. Wither Medit. upon Lords Prayer 31 A Complement more Magnificent then the Nativity-Ceremonies, of all other Kings put together.
nativity song n.
ΚΠ
1665 G. Wither Medit. upon Lords Prayer 31 A Celestial Army celebrated his Birth, with a Nativity-Song.
c1985 B. Turner (title) Nativity song. A staged Christmas action song with percussion, for infants and young juniors.
C2. † nativity-caster n. Obsolete rare a person who calculates horoscopes.† nativity day n. Obsolete a person's birthday; also in extended use.† nativity pie n. Obsolete a type of pastry formerly eaten at Christmas.† nativity-water n. Obsolete rare (apparently) a person's urine used in astrological divination.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the universe > astrology > judicial astrology > [noun] > science of nativity > person
birthlotter1549
genethliac1584
nativity-caster1584
birth-gazer1586
welkin-wizard1596
astrologaster1620
genethliatica1649
schemist1652
stoicheiomatic1662
arch-genethliac1835
astro-alchemist1876
1584 R. Scot Discouerie Witchcraft xi. xxiii. 214 Who shall obteine euerlasting life by meanes of constellations, as natiuitie-casters affirme.
ΚΠ
1616 T. Coryate Traveller for Eng. Wits 21 He is 53 yeares of age, his natiuitie daie hauing beene celebrated with wonderfull pompe since my arriuall here.
a1636 R. Blair Autobiogr. in Life (1848) 44 I trow Augustine makes no mention of the nativity-day in that epistle.
1655 H. L'Estrange Reign King Charles 156 This Warre was the Epoche, the Nativity day from whence all the series of this Kings troubles are to be compiled.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > food > dishes and prepared food > pastry > pie > [noun] > Christmas mince-pie
Christmas pie1565
plum pie1589
nativity pie1602
mince pie1604
minced pie1607
1602 J. Manningham Diary 28 June (1976) 77 An other being to invit his frend, desyred him come and take part of a ‘Nativity pie’ at ‘Christ tyde’ with him.
1607 B. Jonson Volpone i. ii. sig. B3 A precise, pure, illuminate Brother..will drop you forth a libell, or a sanctified lie, Betwixt euery spooneful of a Natiuity Pie . View more context for this quotation
nativity play n. a play (usually performed by children at Christmas time) representing the story of the birth of Jesus.
ΚΠ
1871 H. B. Stowe My Wife & I ii. 7 The first child in a family is its poem—it is a sort of nativity play, and we bend before the young stranger, with gifts, ‘gold, frankincense and myrrh’.
1885 G. A. Healy (title) The Nativity play, or, Christmas cantata.
1902 L. Housman Bethlehem 5 All the songs of the ‘Nativity Play’..were designed to be set to music by my friend, Mr. Joseph Moorat.
1931 E. M. Brent-Dyer Chalet School & Jo xii. 167 They themselves performed, every Christmas, a Nativity Play in aid of the free ward for children at the Sonnalpe Sanatorium.
2001 Daily Record (Glasgow) (Electronic ed.) 14 May Gordon's acting talents first began to shine when he got a part in the Nativity play.
nativity scene n. a painting, model, tableau, etc., representing the story of the birth of Jesus, esp. as put on display at Christmas; a passage of verse or scene of a drama depicting a part of this story.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > representation in art > [noun] > an artistic representation > religious
angelc1425
Madonna1648
adoration1662
Buddha1829
nativity scene1855
Holy Family1875
Pantocrator1911
Sacred Heart1931
1855 Monthly Christian Spectator Nov. 671 The nativity scenes of that great master of light and colour, Rembrandt.
1903 Mod. Philol. 1 83 Master Peter Patelin is..curiously like one of the Nativity scenes in an English mystery [sc. play].
1938 L. Schmeckebier Handbk. Ital. Renaissance Painting iii. i. 233 Ghirlandaio's Nativity scenes in Santa Maria Novella.
1963 K. H. Seibel Joyful Christmas Craft Bk. iii. 60 (caption) A putz like this with tiny figures of the Holy Family in the Nativity scene is made with a variety of other figures, too.
1991 M. W. Twomey in R. J. Blanch et al. Text & Matter 123 As a counterpoint to the apples of Sodom is the burgeoning Rose of the Nativity scene.., in which the Virgin is celebrated for the fruit of her womb, Christ.
ΚΠ
1631 B. Jonson Bartholmew Fayre i. ii. 3 in Wks. II My mother has had her natiuity-water cast lately by the Cunning men in Cow-lane.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2003; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
<
n.lOE