Cristnien

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To admit a person into the Christian church through the rite of baptism, often with a naming ceremony
2. To receive someone into the Christian faith by baptism and give them their formal name
3. To baptize a person as a member of the Church, as was done in medieval English religious practice

Etymology: Middle English "cristnien" meant to bring someone into the Christian faith through baptism, and it was formed from "cristen" (Christian) plus the verb-forming suffix "-ien," the same pattern seen in many Middle English verbs derived from nouns and adjectives. Its root is the Old English "cristen," itself from Latin "christianus," which came from Greek "Christianos," meaning a follower of Christ. The word is a Middle English coinage on native English materials rather than a loan from French or Latin, and its later fate is the more striking part: Modern English dropped it in favour of "christen," which absorbed the same meaning and took over the verb's usage. Its sound and form therefore survive only in older texts, where it appears in the sense of conversion by baptism.

Synonyms: baptize, baptise, name, dub, initiate