nativity

/nəˈtɪv.ɪ.ti/

//nəˈtɪv.ɪ.ti// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"nativity" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“nativity” has 12 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #23,048. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#23,048
frequency rank, English
1,534
“N” headwords
12
tracked misspellings
3
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Someone's birth; the place, time and circumstances of a birth.

Corpus desk

Index EN-nativity · nativity · English

nativity · rank #23,048 · 12 variants · 3 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #23,048
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 3 pairs
  • VAR-MID 12 variants
  • BOOK-MID 1,534
  • PHOTO-FINISH nag

Nearest frequency peer: nag (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “nativity”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “nativity” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

nativity vs negativity
80% similar
nativity vs naivety
75% similar
nativity vs natively
75% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for nativity
PropertyValue
Headwordnativity
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/nəˈtɪv.ɪ.ti/
Letters8
Frequency rank#23,048
Misspellings tracked12
Confusable pairs3
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “nativity”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).nativitylands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “nag” (#23,047), “nook” (#23,050), “Morley” (#23,045). Among 1,534 “N” headwords, “nativity” is #23,048. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 12 spelling variants around nativity (IPA /nəˈtɪv.ɪ.ti/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #23,048 among 1,534 “N” headwords. Wiktionary lists 8 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 12 likely wrong-spelling variants for nativity, with forms such as "antivity", "naitvity", and "natiivty". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 3 confusable-pair relationships, "negativity", "naivety", "natively", where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English nativite, from Anglo-Norman nativite, Middle French nativite, and their source, Latin nātīvitās (“birth”). By surface analysis, native + -ity. See also naïveté. The correct English form is nativity, spelled N-A-T-I-V-I-T-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    Someone's birth; the place, time and circumstances of a birth.
  2. 2
    Someone's birth considered as a means of astrology; a horoscope associated with a person's birth.
  3. 3
    The birth of Jesus.
  4. 4
    The festival celebrating the birth of Jesus, Christmas Day; the festival celebrating the birth of the Virgin Mary or the birth of Saint John the Baptist.
  5. 5
    A set of figurines used to create a nativity scene.
  6. 6
    Origin; founding.
  7. 7
    Place of origin; place to which a species is native.
  8. 8
    The quality of being native or innate.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how nativity appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. 1483, William Caxton, Prologue to The Golden Legend, The Holbein Society’s Fac-simile Reprints, London: The Holbein Society, 1878, […] me semeth to be a souerayn wele to Incyte & exhorte men & wymmen to kepe them from slouthe & ydlenesse & to lete to be vnderstonden to suche peple as been not lettered the natyuytees, lyues, the passyons, the myracles and…
  2. I have served him from the hour of my nativity to this instant, and have nothing at his hands for my service but blows.

Etymology

From Middle English nativite, from Anglo-Norman nativite, Middle French nativite, and their source, Latin nātīvitās (“birth”). By surface analysis, native + -ity. See also naïveté.

This word in other languages

navidad(Español)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • antivity
  • naitvity
  • natiivty
  • nativitty
  • nativityy
  • nativiyt
  • nativtiy
  • nativvity
  • nattivity
  • natviity
  • nnativity
  • ntaivity

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of nativity - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

antivity2naitvity2natiivty2nativitty1nativityy1nativiyt2nativtiy2nativvity1
Edit distance from "nativity"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "nativity"?
"nativity" is spelled N-A-T-I-V-I-T-Y. The IPA pronunciation is /nəˈtɪv.ɪ.ti/.
What does "nativity" mean?
As a noun, "nativity" means: Someone's birth; the place, time and circumstances of a birth.
What words are commonly confused with "nativity"?
"nativity" is commonly confused with "negativity", "naivety", "natively". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "nativity"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "nativity" is /nəˈtɪv.ɪ.ti/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "nativity"?
From Middle English nativite, from Anglo-Norman nativite, Middle French nativite, and their source, Latin nātīvitās (“birth”). By surface analysis, native + -ity. See also naïveté. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "nativity", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 8 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Monsanto#23,043mobilize#23,042menacing#23,039Passover#23,057

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (12 here; floor ≥5).

matrices12 variantsKristina12 variantsindexing12 variantssadistic12 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list