Christian
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈkɹɪʃt͡ʃən/
ipa: /ˈkɹɪstiən/
ipa: /ˈkɹɪst͡ʃən/
rhymes: -ɪstʃən
homophone: Cristian
Forms: form: Christians
form: christian
form: Xtian
form: Xian
Etymology: From Middle English Cristien, from Old French chrestien, from Latin Chrīstiānus, from Ancient Greek Χρῑστιᾱνός (Khrīstiānós), from Χρῑστός (Khrīstós, “Christ, anointed [one]”) + Latin suffix -ānus. The older form is Christen. Doublet of cretin. By surface analysis, Christ + -ian.
Senses: examples: text: Shyl.... If a Iewe wrong a Christian, what is his humillity, reuenge? If a Christian wrong a Iewe, what should his sufferance be by Christian example, why reuenge? The villanie you teach me I will execute, and it shall goe hard but I will better the instruction.
ref: c. 1596–1598 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Merchant of Venice”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene i]:
text: The whole life of a good Christian is nothing else but a state of holy desire (sanctum desiderium).
ref: 1848, James Ford translating St. Augustine in The Gospel of St. Matthew, Illustrated from Ancient and Modern Authors, p. 46
text: “Mahatma Gandhi, I am very anxious to see Christianity naturalized in India, so that it shall be no longer a foreign thing identified with foreign people and a foreign government, but a part of the national life of India... What would you suggest that we do to make that possible?” He very gravely and thoughtfully replied: “I would suggest, first, that all of you Christians, missionaries and all, must begin to live more like Jesus Christ.”
ref: 1925, E. Stanley Jones, The Christ of the Indian Road, page 118:
text: […]thousands of people have been killed in recent years in violence between Muslims and Christians[…]
ref: 2008, Christopher Catherwood, Making War in the Name of God, page 188:
glosses: A believer in Christianity.
examples: text: On the contrary, many lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Christians and Catholics, including heterosexual allies of lesbians and gay Christians, of them, have voiced their opinions on the complicated issues of religion and sexuality.
ref: 2011, Denise Tse-Shang Tang, Conditional Spaces: Hong Kong Lesbian Desires and Everyday Life, Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press, →ISBN, pages 67–68:
text: In South Korea, the Mingjung Theology inspired Christians and Catholics to question the legitimacy of the authoritarian regime.
ref: 2012, Cheng-tian Kuo, “Institutional Choices of Church-State Relations in Chinese Societies”, in Baogang Guo, Chung-chian Teng, editors, Taiwan and the Rise of China: Cross-Strait Relations in the Twenty-first Century, Lanham: Lexington Books, →ISBN, page 123:
text: The point of emphasis here is the fact that many Igbo became Catholics or Christians not because they were convinced of the teachings and practice of Christianity but as a result of many factors.
ref: 2013, Eze Ikechukwu, Being a Christian in Igbo Land: Facts, Fictions and Challenges, Berlin: Logos Verlag Berlin GmbH, →ISBN:
text: Catholics, Christians, Jews, Muslims, and any other dogma that you read about were warring, while fully in their deception from the Light of Truth.
ref: 2021, Yahonathan Daweed, Yahweh for Christians: I Am Original Words, Original Truth, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: Dorrance Publishing Co, →ISBN, page 161:
text: Another way Christians and Catholics are perceived as anti-homosexual is via institutional oppression.
ref: 2022, Arthur David Canales, Pastoral Care to and Ministry with LGBTQ Youth and Young Adults, Eugene, Oregon: Wipf & Stock, →ISBN, page 69:
glosses: A believer in Christianity.
An adherent of Christianity who is not a Catholic; a Protestant.
examples: text: Ye lyfe of euery christian, is as a pilgremage.
ref: 1526, William Bonde, Preface to Pylgrimage of Perfection
text: The very word ‘Christianity’ is a misunderstanding—at bottom there was only one Christian, and he died on the cross.
ref: 1976, Friedrich Nietzsche, translated by Walter Arnold Kaufmann, The Antichrist, §39:
text: ‘You’re riding for a fall, Healey, you know that? There are hedges and ditches ahead and you are on course for an almighty cropper.’
‘Sir.’
‘And I shall be cheering and laughing as you tumble,’ said Meddlar, his spectacles flashing.
‘That’s just the warm-hearted Christian in you, sir.’
ref: 1991 September, Stephen Fry, chapter 1, in The Liar, London: Heinemann, →ISBN, section II, page 20:
glosses: A person who seeks to live his or her life according to the principles and values taught by Jesus Christ.
glosses: A European, especially though not necessarily of the Christian religion.
Hypernyms: word: religionist
word: theist
word: monotheist
word: Abrahamist
word: People of the Book
word: Judeo-Christian
Hyponyms: word: Adventist
word: Amish
word: Amish man
word: Amish woman
word: Anglican
word: Armstrongite
word: Baptist
word: Campbellite
word: Catholic
word: Christianess
word: Christianist
word: Episcopalian
word: Hussite
word: Hutterite
word: Jehovah's Witness
word: Lutheran
word: Mennonite
word: Orthodox
word: Presbyterian
word: Protestant
word: rice Christian
word: Waldensian
word: Witness
word: Evangelical
word: fundie
word: papist
word: bishop
word: missionary
word: pastor