baptize

baptize
baptize, christen mean to make one a Christian or to admit one to a Christian communion by a ceremony in which water is poured or sprinkled on the head or in which the body is immersed in water.
Baptize is at once the precise and the general term for this ceremony because it implies both the rite and its ends, and it may be used in reference to both infants and adults.
Christen is the popular word, but for several centuries it has so emphasized the giving of a name, which is in some churches a part of the ceremony of baptism, that it now is used at times without any reference to the religious ceremony and even with reference to inanimate objects which are formally named, often with a ceremony analogous to that of baptism; thus, "the baby has not yet been christened" may mean either "not yet baptized" or "not yet named, " though both are commonly implied; a ship is christened by performing the ceremony of breaking a bottle of liquid (as champagne) against its sides while pronouncing its name.

New Dictionary of Synonyms. 2014.

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  • baptize — c.1300, from O.Fr. batisier (11c.), from L. baptizare, from Gk. baptizein to immerse, to dip in water, also used figuratively, e.g. to be over one s head (in debt, etc.), to be soaked (in wine); in Greek Christian usage, baptize; from baptein to… …   Etymology dictionary

  • baptize — (also baptise) ► VERB 1) administer baptism to. 2) give a name or nickname to. ORIGIN Greek baptizein immerse, baptize …   English terms dictionary

  • baptize — [bap tīz′, bap′tīz] vt. baptized, baptizing [ME baptisen < OFr baptiser < LL(Ec) baptizare < Gr baptizein, to immerse, baptize, substituted for earlier baptein, to dip (used in post classical Gr chiefly in sense “to dip in dye”) < IE… …   English World dictionary

  • Baptize — Bap*tize , v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Baptized}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Baptizing}.] [F. baptiser, L. baptizare, fr. Gr. bapti zein. See {Baptism}.] 1. To administer the sacrament of baptism to. [1913 Webster] 2. To christen (because a name is given to… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • baptize — (Amer.) bap·tize || bæp taɪz v. perform ceremony of baptism by immersing in water (Christian ritual symbolizing admittance into the church); give a name to person during the ceremony of baptism (also baptise) …   English contemporary dictionary

  • baptize — [v] initiate in church rite admit, asperse, besprinkle, call, christen, cleanse, denominate, dip, dub, entitle, immerse, name, purify, regenerate, sprinkle, term, title; concept 367 …   New thesaurus

  • baptize — [13] The underlying notion of baptize is of ‘dipping’, as those baptized were originally (and sometimes still are) immersed in water. It comes from Greek báptein ‘dip’, whose derivative baptízein ‘baptize’ passed via Latin baptizāre and Old… …   The Hutchinson dictionary of word origins

  • baptize — UK [ˌbæpˈtaɪz] / US [bæpˈtaɪz] verb [transitive, usually passive] Word forms baptize : present tense I/you/we/they baptize he/she/it baptizes present participle baptizing past tense baptized past participle baptized 1) to welcome someone into the …   English dictionary

  • baptize — [13] The underlying notion of baptize is of ‘dipping’, as those baptized were originally (and sometimes still are) immersed in water. It comes from Greek báptein ‘dip’, whose derivative baptízein ‘baptize’ passed via Latin baptizāre and Old… …   Word origins

  • baptize — also baptise verb (baptized; also baptised; baptizing; also baptising) Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo French baptiser, from Late Latin baptizare, from Greek baptizein to dip, baptize, from baptein to dip, dye; akin to Old Norse kvefja to… …   New Collegiate Dictionary

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