baptism
A Christian sacrament, by which one is received into a church and sometimes given a name, generally involving the candidate to be anointed with or submerged in water.
Example
“The child’s baptism was held at the old church.”
Other meanings
A similar ceremony of initiation, purification or naming.
The moment at which an object is first assigned a proper name.
Related words
- baptism by immersing
- immersion baptism
- baptism by pouring
- affusion baptism
- baptism by sprinkling
- aspersion baptism
- baptism by submerging
- submersion baptism
Word history
From Ancient Greek "βάπτισμα" (dipping, baptism).
Where this comes from
This definition is adapted from “baptism” on Wiktionary, by its contributors, published under CC BY-SA 4.0. This page is published under the same licence.