Etymologically
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Christus

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Pronunciation

  • Classical: [ˈkʰriːs.tʊs][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [ˈkris.tus][1]

Forms

Chrīstus m sg (genitive Chrīstī); second declension[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Ancient Greek χριστός (khristós, “anointed”), from χρίω (khríō, “to rub, anoint”).[1][2][3][4] The Greek word was used to translate Biblical Hebrew מָשִׁיחַ (mašīaḥ, “anointed”), and Latin writers knew this: Lactantius says that Christians call him by this name, that is, unctus (“anointed”), the one who in Hebrew is called Messiās.[1][3][5][4] Köbler, Wiktionary and Etymonline trace the Greek verb to Proto-Indo-European *gʰrey- (“to rub”).[2][1][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Its first datable record is in Tacitus' Annals, which says that Christus, the founder of the name of the Christians, had been executed in the reign of Tiberius by the procurator Pontius Pilate.[5][6][4][2] Pliny the Younger reports in a letter that people who denied being Christians cursed Christ, and that the Christians met before dawn and sang a hymn to Christ as to a god.[5][4][7]

Semantic evolution

In the Church fathers it is very common.[4][5] Tertullian points out that it is not properly a name but a title, since it means “anointed”,[5] and Lactantius likewise explains it as the title of the power and kingship of the Jewish kings; he also notes that the ignorant change a letter and call him Chrestus.[5] Christian writers heaped titles on it, calling Christ the wisdom of God, the second Adam and the lamb without blemish.[5] Lactantius tells how Constantine marked Christ on the shields with a sideways ⟨X⟩ whose top was bent over,[5] and the abbreviated form and the monogram appear often in inscriptions and manuscripts.[5]

As a common noun, christus “anointed one” is found from the Old Latin Bible on, for the kings and priests of the Jews and the Messiah they awaited;[5] Jerome notes that Cyrus is called christus,[5] and Augustine and others call all Christians christī because of the chrism.[5] The Vulgate also has it as an adjective, of anointed priests.[8][7][2] In Medieval Latin kings, popes and bishops were called christus Dominī, “the Lord's anointed”,[9][10] and Christus vincit was the title of a hymn.[10]

Old English crist (by 830, perhaps as early as 675) was taken from it,[3] and Italian Cristo continues it.[11]

Timeline

  • 98–115 AD – Tacitus names Christus as the founder of the Christians' name.[5][4][2]
  • c. 160–220 AD – Tertullian explains it as a title meaning “anointed”.[5][2]
  • after 220 AD – The Old Latin Bible uses christus of an anointed king or priest.[5][2]
  • c. 250–317 AD – Lactantius explains the name and tells of Constantine's shields.[5][2]
  • 390–406 AD – The Vulgate uses christus as an adjective.[8][2]
  • by 830 – Old English crist is recorded, from Latin.[3]

Meanings

Proper noun

  1. Christ, Jesus, the Anointed One, the Messiah.[6][4][12][5]

Noun

  1. (Ecclesiastical Latin) An anointed one; a king or priest of the Jews; the Messiah they awaited.[5][1]
  2. (Ecclesiastical Latin) A Christian.[5][9]
  3. (Medieval Latin) An anointed king, pope or bishop, christus Dominī.[9][10]

Adjective

  1. (Ecclesiastical Latin) Anointed.[8][7][12][11]

Word family

  • Chrīstiānus
  • Antichrīstus
  • Pseudochrīstus

Usage notes

Inscriptions also spell it Cristus.[5] Wiktionary writes the common noun and adjective with a small letter, chrīstus.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  3. ^ a b c d e Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b c d e f g Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  6. ^ a b Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  7. ^ a b c Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
  8. ^ a b c Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
  9. ^ a b c Mittellateinisches Wörterbuch bis zum ausgehenden 13. Jahrhundert (1967–), Munich: C. H. Beck; Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  10. ^ a b c Latham, R. E., D. R. Howlett, R. K. Ashdowne, et al. (1975–2013), Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources, London: British Academy / Oxford University Press
  11. ^ a b Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier
  12. ^ a b Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson