χρῖσμα

Forms

χρῖσμᾰ (khrîsma) n (genitive χρῑ́σμᾰτος); third declension^[1]

Etymology

It is formed from Ancient Greek χρίω (khríō, “to anoint, smear”) + -μα (-ma), with the suffix of nouns of result.^[1][2] LSJ treats it as a later form of χρῖμα (khrîma), which has the same meanings; the ⟨σ⟩ is that of the related χρῖσις (khrîsis, “anointing”).^[3][4][5] Pokorny and Köbler trace the verb to the root Proto-Indo-European *gʰrey- (“to smear, rub”).^[6][7]

Earliest recorded meaning

It first appears in the Hippocratic writings of the 5th and 4th centuries BC, of an ointment or salve, and the manuscripts of Xenophon also have it for χρῖμα, of oil for rubbing on the body.^[8][3][2]

Semantic evolution

In the Septuagint it is the act of anointing, as in the consecration of Aaron in Exodus, and once the glaze or coating of a potter's ware in Sirach.^[9][3] The First Epistle of John speaks of the faithful as having a χρῖσμα from the Holy One, which most interpreters take as the anointing with the Holy Spirit; this is the source of the Christian sense of spiritual grace.^[4][3][10] Writers of the Roman period also used it for a coating of plaster or mortar on a wall.^[3][2]

Through Church Latin chrisma it gave the Old English word that became English chrism, the consecrated oil of church rites.^[11] The Coptic borrowing is recorded in Sahidic.^[12] In Modern Greek, as a learned word, χρίσμα (chrísma) is above all the sacrament of chrismation that follows baptism in the Orthodox Church.^[13][14]

Timeline

• 5th–4th century BC – The Hippocratic writings use it for ointments and salves.^[8][3]
• 5th–4th century BC – The manuscripts of Xenophon have it for oil used to anoint the body.^[3][2][15]
• 1st century BC – Diodorus Siculus uses it for a coating of plaster on a wall.^[3][2][15]
• 1st century AD – The First Epistle of John uses it of the anointing that believers have received.^[4][3]
• 2nd century AD – Galen uses it for medical ointments, and it is commonest in this century.^[3][8][15]
• Late Old English – English borrows it through Church Latin as the word that became chrism.^[11]
• Modern Greek – The learned χρίσμα (chrísma) names the sacrament of chrismation.^[13]

Meanings

Noun

1. An ointment, unguent or scented oil for rubbing on the body.^[3][2][14]
2. (Koine) anointing, unction, as a rite of consecration.^[3][9][4]
3. (New Testament) The spiritual anointing of believers, usually understood as the gift of the Holy Spirit.^[4][10]
4. A coating of plaster or mortar on a wall; a glaze on pottery.^[3][9][2]

Related words

• χρῖμα (khrîma)
• χρίω (khríō)
• χριστός (khristós)
• Latin chrisma
• English chrism

Usage notes

LSJ notes that the common accentuation χρίσμα is wrong, since the ⟨ι⟩ is long, as in χρῖμα.^[3]

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g Bailly, Anatole (2020), Dictionnaire grec-français, Bailly 2020 Hugo Chávez ed., ed. Gérard Gréco et al.
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert; Jones, Henry Stuart (1940), A Greek-English Lexicon, 9th ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
4. ^ a b c d e Bauer, Walter; Danker, Frederick W., et al. (2000), A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, 3rd ed., Chicago: University of Chicago Press
5. ^ Μανδουλίδης, Ετυμολογικό λεξικό της αρχαίας ελληνικής
6. ^ Pokorny, Julius (1959), Indogermanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, Bern; Munich: Francke
7. ^ Köbler, Gerhard, Griechisch-deutsches Wörterbuch, online ed., https://www.koeblergerhard.de
8. ^ a b c Keersmaekers, Alek (2021–2025), GLAUx: The Greek Language Automated corpus, https://github.com/alekkeersmaekers/glaux
9. ^ a b c Lust, Johan; Eynikel, Erik; Hauspie, Katrin (2003), Greek-English Lexicon of the Septuagint, rev. ed., Stuttgart: Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft
10. ^ a b Strong, James (1890), A Concise Dictionary of the Words in the Greek Testament, in The Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible, New York: Hunt & Eaton
11. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
12. ^ Database and Dictionary of Greek Loanwords in Coptic (DDGLC), Freie Universität Berlin and Universität Leipzig
13. ^ a b Ινστιτούτο Νεοελληνικών Σπουδών (Ίδρυμα Μανόλη Τριανταφυλλίδη) (1998), Λεξικό της κοινής νεοελληνικής, Thessaloniki: Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
14. ^ a b Korinthios, J. (2025), Grande Dizionario Greco Classico: Greco–Italiano, digital ed., Milan: Hoepli
15. ^ a b c Rodríguez Adrados, Francisco, et al., eds. (1980–), Diccionario Griego-Español, Madrid: CSIC, http://dge.cchs.csic.es/xdge