baptism
NounUS[bap-tih-zuhm]/ˈbæptɪzəm/3 syllables
Open English WordNet
Noun (1)
- a Christian sacrament signifying spiritual cleansing and rebirth“most churches baptize infants but some insist on adult baptism”Type of sacramentKinds christening, immersion, affusion, aspersion
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Webster's Dictionary (1913)
Bap′tism (…), noun
Origin: OE. baptim, baptem, OF. baptesme, batisme, F. baptême, L. baptisma, fr. Gr. βάπτισμα, fr. βαπτίζειν to baptize, fr. βάπτειν to dip in water, akin to βαθύς deep, Skr. gāh to dip, bathe, intransitive verb
The act of baptizing; the application of water to a person, as a sacrament or religious ceremony, by which he is initiated into the visible church of Christ. This is performed by immersion, sprinkling, or pouring.
Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913), from GCIDE 0.54
The Devil's Dictionary
BAPTISM, n. A sacred rite of such efficacy that he who finds himself in heaven without having undergone it will be unhappy forever. It is performed with water in two ways -- by immersion, or plunging, and by aspersion, or sprinkling.
But whether the plan of immersion Is better than simple aspersion Let those immersed And those aspersed Decide by the Authorized Version, And by matching their agues tertian. G.J.