christen
English[edit]
Alternative forms[edit]
Etymology[edit]
From Middle English cristenen, cristnien, from Old English cristnian (“to christen, baptise”), from cristen (“Christen, Christian”) + -nian. Cognate with Dutch kerstenen (“to christen”), Middle Low German kristenen, kerstenen, karstenen (“to christen”), Danish kristne (“to christen”) Swedish kristna (“to christen”), Icelandic kristna (“to christen”).
Pronunciation[edit]
Verb[edit]
christen (third-person singular simple present christens, present participle christening, simple past and past participle christened)
- (transitive) To perform the religious act of baptism upon; to baptize.
- The new baby was christened at the village church.
- (transitive, by extension) To name.
- I christen this ship the Bonny Barnacle.
- 1684-1690, Thomas Burnet, Sacred Theory of the Earth
- Christen the thing what you will.
- (obsolete) To Christianize.
- 1657, Jeremy Taylor, Discourse of the Nature, Offices and Measures of Friendship
- I must tell you that christianity hath new christened it
- (colloquial) To use for the first time.
- I christened my new boots today with a walk in the snow.
- (informal) To douse or wet with blood, urine, tears, or other liquid.
- 1892, John Henry Brown, History of Texas; from 1685 to 1892 - Volume 1, page 127:
- Thus was De Witt's colony, like Austin's, at the mouth of the Colorado, christened in blood, and thus for the moment ended the first effort to found a settlement within its limits.
- 2002: Q Is for Quarry by Sue Grafton
- I christened the facilities, shrugged into my windbreaker, and met Dolan at his door.
- 2005, Linda Sonna, Early-Start Potty Training, page viii:
- Being christened by a urinating bare-bottomed newborn is almost a rite of passage of parenthood.
- 2010, Stefan Korn, Scott Lancaster, Eric Mooij, Being a Great Dad For Dummies, page 122:
- By the way if, as part of your fatherhood journey, you haven't been vomited on, had poo squirted on you, or been christened with pee yet, you're not trying hard enough.
- 2012, Glory Keveme, Broken Wings, page Page 51:
- A daddy-long-legs lurched against the white-washed walls while Surefire christened the lime-swilled fresh bucket with a strong stream of urine.
Translations[edit]
Anagrams[edit]
Dutch[edit]
Alternative forms[edit]
- kersten (obsolete)
Etymology[edit]
From Middle Dutch cristen, variant of kersten, from Old Dutch [Term?], from Latin Christiānus, from Ancient Greek Χρῑστιᾱνός (Khrīstiānós). The current Dutch spelling has been influenced by the Latin and subsequently also the Greek words.
Pronunciation[edit]
- IPA(key): /ˈkrɪs.tən/
- (some orthodox Protestants) IPA(key): /ˈxrɪs.tən/
Audio (file) - Hyphenation: chris‧ten
- Rhymes: -ɪstən
Noun[edit]
christen m (plural christenen, diminutive christentje n, feminine christin)
Derived terms[edit]
Descendants[edit]
- Negerhollands: christ
Related terms[edit]
- English terms inherited from Middle English
- English terms derived from Middle English
- English terms inherited from Old English
- English terms derived from Old English
- English 2-syllable words
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
- English terms with audio links
- Rhymes:English/ɪsən
- English lemmas
- English verbs
- English transitive verbs
- English terms with usage examples
- English terms with quotations
- English terms with obsolete senses
- English informal terms
- Dutch terms inherited from Middle Dutch
- Dutch terms derived from Middle Dutch
- Dutch terms inherited from Old Dutch
- Dutch terms derived from Old Dutch
- Dutch terms derived from Latin
- Dutch terms derived from Ancient Greek
- Dutch terms with IPA pronunciation
- Dutch terms with audio links
- Rhymes:Dutch/ɪstən
- Dutch lemmas
- Dutch nouns
- Dutch nouns with plural in -en
- Dutch masculine nouns
- nl:People