Christian

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Contents

English[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

  • IPA: /ˈkɹɪʃtʃən/, /ˈkɹɪʃtjən/, /ˈkɹɪstʃən/
  • Audio (US)
    		(file)
  • Hyphenation: Chris‧tian

Etymology[edit]

Circa 1590, from Latin Christianus, from Ancient Greek Χριστιανός (Christianos), from Χριστός (Christos, “Christ, anointed one”) + Latin suffix -anus.

Noun[edit]

Christian (plural Christians)

  1. A believer in Christianity.
    • 1997, Anne Field, From darkness to light: how one became a Christian in the early church (ISBN 1888212063)
  2. An individual who seeks to live his or her life according to the principles and values taught by Jesus Christ.
  3. (Can we verify(+) this sense?) One born in a Christian country or of Christian parents, and who has not definitely becomes an adherent of an opposing system.

Hypernyms[edit]

Coordinate terms[edit]

Translations[edit]

member of the Christian religion

Proper noun[edit]

Christian

  1. A male given name found in England since the twelfth century.
  2. A female given name of medieval usage, rare today.
  3. A patronymic surname​.

Related terms[edit]

Translations[edit]

male given name

Adjective[edit]

Christian (comparative more Christian, superlative most Christian)

  1. (not comparable) Of, like or relating to Christianity or Christians.
  2. Kind, charitable; moral; a term of approbation.
    That's very Christian of you.
    • 1824, Susan Ferrier, The Inheritance
      I cannot help thinking there are people in the world who are very tiresome, very impertinent, and very disagreeable; yet, I don't think it would be a very Christian act were I to tell them so.
    • 1854, Nathaniel James Merriman, The Kafir, the Hottentot, and the frontier farmer (page 74)
      I must say I have seen him do a very Christian act at the Fish River. Some Kafir women were there eating; he begged of them; they refused to give him any food. […] I gave him some of the victuals we were enjoying, and he instantly broke the bread, and gave of it to these very Kafir women who had just refused any of theirs.
    • 1859, David W. Belisle, The American family Robinson (page 290)
      "Besides this," said the trapper, "it is hardly a Christian act to leave these two men to perish by the hands of the savages […]
    • 1867, Henry Shepheard, Ithuriel's spear; or, Is this Christianity? (page 118)
      So, in his esteem, an auto da fé — an "act of faith," as the words mean — is really an act of faith — an act of such faith as the author of "Ecce Homo" approves — a most Christian act — a most humane act […]
    • 1867?, Janet Robertson, Christine; or, Common-Place People
      I have only been at home two days, and here I am come on the third to see you and Tiny, so it is not Christian of you — as my mother would say — to receive your dutiful grand-nephew in such an unkind manner […]
    • 1981, Mary Leader, Salem's Children, ISBN 084390982X, page 82
      "Why should I? It's very Christian of you." "People here do not think of me as a Christian, Mitti." "I'd call it Christian charity," I floundered. "You think Christians have a monopoly on charity?" she asked. "Well, no," I stammered.
    • 1995, Patrick Colm Hogan, Joyce, Milton, and the theory of influence, page 88:
      Joyce […] must have found himself likewise in accord with Dante's view that "The Goal of Mankind is Universal Peace," a view to which Dante devoted an entire section of his treatise, and a view opposed to the protestant militancy of the more muscularly Christian Milton.
    • 1996 Nov-Dec, Richard Blow, “Al Franken”[1], Mother Jones Magazine, volume 21: 
      I didn't think it was very Christian of them, not to call back. Just downright Un-Christian."
    • 2009, Adriane Danette Lentz-Smith, Freedom Struggles: African Americans and World War I, page 209:
      Mood and hopes ran high. Onto the stage, into this mélange of black power, military symbolism, and Christian striving, walked Kathryn Johnson.
    • 2010, Linda Woodbridge, English Revenge Drama: Money, Resistance, Equality, page 268:
      Henry Irving and other Victorian actors easily created empathy for Shylock, even in a muscularly Christian period.

Usage notes[edit]

Use of the term "Christian" in the generalised approbative sense "kind, moral" may offend non-Christians.

(See also the pejorative use of "Jew".)

Translations[edit]

of, like or relating to Christianity or Christians
kind, moral

Synonyms[edit]

Antonyms[edit]

Derived terms[edit]

Related terms[edit]

See also[edit]

Statistics[edit]

Anagrams[edit]

Danish[edit]

Alternative forms[edit]

Etymology[edit]

Latin Christianus.

Proper noun[edit]

Christian

  1. A male given name.

Usage notes[edit]

  • Traditionally popular in Denmark, as the name of ten ruling kings since the fifteenth century.

Related terms[edit]

References[edit]

  • [2] Danskernes Navne, based on CPR data: 146 350 males with the given name Christian (compared to 72 098 named Kristian) have been registered in Denmark between about 1890 (=the population alive in 1967) and January 2005, with the frequency peak in the 19th century. Accessed on 19 June 2011.

French[edit]

Proper noun[edit]

Christian IPA: /kʁis.tjɑ̃/

  1. A male given name, cognate to Christian.

Related terms[edit]

German[edit]

Proper noun[edit]

Christian

  1. A male given name.

Related terms[edit]

Norwegian[edit]

Alternative forms[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Latin Chrīstiānus.

Proper noun[edit]

Christian

  1. A male given name.

References[edit]

  • Kristoffer Kruken - Ola Stemshaug: Norsk personnamnleksikon, Det Norske Samlaget, Oslo 1995, ISBN 82-521-4483-7
  • [3] Statistisk sentralbyrå, Namnestatistikk: 13 192 males with the given name Christian (compared to 15 707 named Kristian) living in Norway on January 1st 2011, with the frequency peak in the 1980s. Accessed on April 29th, 2011.

Old French[edit]

Proper noun[edit]

Christian m (nominative singular Christians)

  1. A male given name, cognate to Christian in Modern English

Swedish[edit]

Proper noun[edit]

Christian

  1. A male given name, a spelling variant of Kristian.

References[edit]

  • Roland Otterbjörk: Svenska förnamn, Almqvist & Wiksell 1996, ISBN 91-21-10937-0
  • [4] Statistiska centralbyrån and Sture Allén, Staffan Wåhlin, Förnamnsboken, Norstedts 1995, ISBN 9119551622: 36 914 males with the given name Christian (compared to 14 967 named Kristian) living in Sweden on December 31st, 2010, with the frequency peak in the 1980s. Accessed on 19 June 2011.
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