Adjacent Words

Baptism definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

BAP'TISM, n. [Gr. to baptize.]
1. The application of water to a person, as a sacrament or religious ceremony, by which he is initiated into the visible church of Christ. This is usually performed by sprinkling or immersion.
2. The sufferings of Christ. Matt.xx22.23.
3. So much of the gospel as was preached by John, the Baptist. Acts 18.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: a Christian sacrament signifying spiritual cleansing and rebirth; "most churches baptize infants but some insist on adult baptism"

Merriam Webster's

noun Etymology: Middle English baptisme Date: 14th century 1. a. a Christian sacrament marked by ritual use of water and admitting the recipient to the Christian community b. a non-Christian rite using water for ritual purification c. Christian Science purification by or submergence in Spirit 2. an act, experience, or ordeal by which one is purified, sanctified, initiated, or named • baptismal adjective • baptismally adverb

Britannica Concise

In Christianity, the sacrament of admission to the church, symbolized by the pouring or sprinkling of water on the head or by immersion in water. The ceremony is usually accompanied by the words "I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit." In the doctrine originated by St. Paul, it signifies the wiping away of past sins and the rebirth of the individual into a new life. Judaism practiced ritual purification by immersion, and the Gospels report that John the Baptist baptized Jesus. Baptism was an important ritual in the early church by the 1st cent., and infant baptism appeared by the 3rd cent. Roman Catholic, Orthodox, and most Protestant churches practice infant baptism. The Anabaptist reformers insisted on adult baptism after a confession of faith; modern Baptists and the Disciples of Christ also practice adult baptism.

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. 1 a the religious rite, symbolizing admission to the Christian Church, of sprinkling the forehead with water, or (usu. only with adults) by immersion, generally accompanied by name-giving. b the act of baptizing or being baptized. 2 an initiation, e.g. into battle. 3 the naming of ships, church bells, etc. Phrases and idioms: baptism of fire 1 initiation into battle. 2 a painful new undertaking or experience. Derivatives: baptismal adj. Etymology: ME f. OF bate(s)me f. eccl.L baptismus f. eccl.Gk baptismos f. baptizo BAPTIZE

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Baptism Bap"tism, n. [OE. baptim, baptem, OE. baptesme, batisme, F. bapt[^e]me, L. baptisma, fr. Gr. ?, fr. ? to baptize, fr. ? to dip in water, akin to ? deep, Skr. g[=a]h to dip, bathe, v. i.] The act of baptizing; the application of water to a person, as a sacrament or religious ceremony, by which he is initiated into the visible church of Christ. This is performed by immersion, sprinkling, or pouring.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(baptisms) A baptism is a Christian ceremony in which a person is baptized. Compare christening. N-VAR

Moby Thesaurus

acceptance, admission, admittance, affusion, appellation, aspergation, aspersion, baptismal gown, baptismal regeneration, baptistery, baptizement, bath, bathing, bedewing, burial, calling, chrismal, christening, confirmation, dampening, damping, definition, deluge, denomination, designation, dewing, dip, dipping, dousing, drowning, duck, ducking, dunking, engulfment, enlistment, enrollment, extreme unction, flooding, font, holy orders, hosing, hosing down, humidification, identification, immergence, immersion, immission, inauguration, induction, infusion, initiation, installation, instatement, intromission, inundation, investiture, irrigation, laving, matrimony, moistening, naming, nicknaming, ordination, penance, rinsing, seven sacraments, sinking, souse, sousing, sparging, spattering, splashing, splattering, spraying, sprinkling, styling, submergence, submersion, swashing, terming, the Eucharist, total immersion, watering, wetting