Etymologically
Log in

baptism

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 31 October 2026 at 06:51. This address is a permanent link to this version.
Changes in this edit History

Pronunciation

  • /ˈbæptɪzəm/[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English bapteme, later baptisme,[2][3][4] borrowed from Old French baptesme, also batesme,[4][5][6] which the Anglo-Norman Dictionary records from 1120–40.[7] The French word is a semi-popular adaptation of Ecclesiastical Latin baptismus and baptisma,[4][8][5] from Ancient Greek βαπτισμός (baptismós, “ceremonial washing”) and βάπτισμα (báptisma, “a dipping; baptism”),[4][8][9] nouns from βαπτίζω (baptízō, “to dip, immerse; to baptize”),[4][9] from βάπτω (báptō, “to dip, steep, dye”).[9][2][10] Klein and Barnhart compare Old Norse kvefja (“to press under, plunge”),[9][2] and Ayto kafa (“to dive”).[10] The spelling with -s- was restored after Latin and Greek, from the late 14th century in Etymonline and in the 16th century according to the OED.[5][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

The Christian rite of baptism: about 1303, as bapteme in Mannyng's Handlyng Synne, according to Barnhart.[2] The OED's first date is 1377.[4]

Semantic evolution

Before the French word arrived the rite was called Old English fulluht, and John the Baptist was se Fulluhtere.[5][11] The figurative use, for any ceremonial cleansing, initiation or dedication, dates from the late 14th century, in the Wycliffite Bible,[4][5] and the phrase baptism of blood was applied to the martyrdom of unbaptized believers.[4] Baptism of fire was at first an ecclesiastical term for the grace of the Holy Spirit imparted through baptism, and later for martyrdom, especially by burning;[5][4] from 1857 it was used of a soldier's first experience of battle, translating French baptême de feu.[5][4] Johnson (1755) defined baptism as an outward washing of the body that signifies the washing of the soul from original sin.[12]

Timeline

  • c. 1303 – bapteme, in Mannyng's Handlyng Synne.[2]
  • 1357 – the form baptisme.[2]
  • 1377 – first date in the OED.[4]
  • c. 1384 – the rite, and figurative use, in the Wycliffite Bible.[4]
  • 1857 – baptism of fire, a soldier's first battle.[5][4]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A Christian sacrament or rite in which a person is immersed in or sprinkled with water as a sign of cleansing from sin and admission into the church.[3][13][4]
  2. The act of baptizing or of being baptized.[13][4]
  3. Any experience that initiates, purifies or dedicates someone: Her first week on the night shift was a hard baptism.[13][3][4]
  4. baptism of fire: a soldier's first experience of battle; any first, testing ordeal.[5][4]

Word family

  • baptismal
  • baptismally
  • anabaptism
  • pedobaptism
  • rebaptism
  • baptism for the dead
  • baptism of fire
  • anabaptist
  • baptize
  • baptist
  • baptistery
  • baptistry
  • pedobaptist
  • rebaptize

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  3. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  6. ^ Stevenson, Angus, ed. (2010), Oxford Dictionary of English, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  7. ^ Anglo-Norman Dictionary (AND2), Aberystwyth University, anglo-norman.net (2nd ed., 2005–)
  8. ^ a b Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  9. ^ a b c d Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
  10. ^ a b Ayto, John (2005), Word Origins: The Secret Histories of English Words from A to Z, 2nd ed., London: A & C Black
  11. ^ Bosworth, Joseph; Toller, T. Northcote (1898), An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press; Toller, T. Northcote (1921), Supplement
  12. ^ Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
  13. ^ a b c Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins