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Glite Dictionary
nativity story

nativity story

1 4.3
The story of the birth of Jesus in the Christian Bible
  • noun
  • /nəˈtɪvɪti ˈstɔri/
translation icon : historia de la natividad
  • In the nativity story, wise men traveled from afar to bring gifts to the newborn Jesus.

Examples

  • Every Christmas, children in the church put on a play retelling the nativity story.

  • Many artists have depicted scenes from the nativity story over the centuries.

  • The teacher read the nativity story to the class before the holiday break.

  • The nativity story is celebrated every Christmas.

  • Many people enjoy reading nativity stories during the holiday season.

  • The nativity story describes how Jesus was born in a humble stable in Bethlehem.

  • According to the nativity story, the angel Gabriel announced the birth of Jesus to Mary.

Synonyms

Nativity
vsnativity story
22 7.4

The birth of Jesus Christ often shown in a scene at Christmas

focuses on the narrative in the Gospels retelling that same birth event

Surface Forms

nativity story singular
nativity stories plural

Morphology

Nativity + story

The phrase combines 'nativity' (the event of Jesus Christ's birth) with 'story' (a narrative), so the meaning 'the story of the birth of Jesus' is directly derivable from its parts. This is a simple compositional noun phrase and mirrors similar expressions in many languages, making it transparent to learners who know both constituents.

Etymology

The phrase nativity story comes from the word nativity, which means 'birth', and it shows Mary and the baby Jesus in a stable with shepherds, angels and the wise men. So nativity story means the story of Jesus' 'birth' as told in the Bible.