Christian

• POS: Adjective, Noun, Adverb
• HYPHEN: Chris=tian

CIDE DICTIONARY

Christian, n. [L. christianus, Gr. ; cf. AS. cristen. See Christ.].

•  One who believes, or professes or is assumed to believe, in Jesus Christ, and the truth as taught by Him; especially, one whose inward and outward life is conformed to the doctrines of Christ.  [1913 Webster]

  "The disciples were called Christians first in Antioch."  [1913 Webster]
•  One born in a Christian country or of Christian parents, and who has not definitely becomes an adherent of an opposing system.  [1913 Webster]
•  One of a Christian denomination which rejects human creeds as bases of fellowship, and sectarian names. They are congregational in church government, and baptize by immersion. They are also called Disciples of Christ, and Campbellites.  [1913 Webster]

  " In this sense, often pronounced, but not by the members of the sects, krīs"chan."  [1913 Webster]

Christian, a. 

•  Pertaining to Christ or his religion; as, Christian people.  [1913 Webster]
•  Pertaining to the church; ecclesiastical; as, a Christian court.  Blackstone.  [1913 Webster]
•  Characteristic of Christian people; civilized; kind; kindly; gentle; beneficent.  [1913 Webster]

Christian Commission. See under Commission. -- Christian court. Same as Ecclesiastical court. -- Christian Endeavor, Young People's Society of. In various Protestant churches, a society of young people organized in each individual church to do Christian work; also, the whole body of such organizations, which are united in a corporation called the United Society of Christian Endeavor, organized in 1885. The parent society was founded in 1881 at Portland, Maine, by Rev. Francis E. Clark, a Congregational minister. [Webster 1913 Suppl.] -- Christian era, the present era, commencing with the birth of Christ. It is supposed that owing to an error of a monk (Dionysius Exiguus, d. about 556) employed to calculate the era, its commencement was fixed three or four years too late, so that 1890 should be 1893 or 1894. -- Christian name, the name given in baptism, as distinct from the family name, or surname.

OXFORD DICTIONARY

Christian, adj. & n.
--adj.
1 of Christ's teaching or religion.
2 believing in or following the religion of Jesus Christ.
3 showing the qualities associated with Christ's teaching.
4 colloq. (of a person) kind, fair, decent.
--n.
1 a a person who has received Christian baptism. b an adherent of Christ's teaching.
2 a person exhibiting Christian qualities.

Idiom

Christian era the era reckoned from the traditional date of Christ's birth. Christian name a forename, esp. as given at baptism. Christian Science a Christian sect believing in the power of healing by prayer alone. Christian Scientist an adherent of Christian Science.

Derivative

Christianize v.tr. & intr. (also -ise). Christianization n. Christianly adv.

Etymology

Christianus f. Christus CHRIST

DEVIL DICTIONARY

Christian

n. One who believes that the New Testament is a divinely inspired book admirably suited to the spiritual needs of his neighbor. One who follows the teachings of Christ in so far as they are not inconsistent with a life of sin.

I dreamed I stood upon a hill, and, lo!
The godly multitudes walked to and fro
Beneath, in Sabbath garments fitly clad,
With pious mien, appropriately sad,
While all the church bells made a solemn din --
A fire-alarm to those who lived in sin.
Then saw I gazing thoughtfully below,
With tranquil face, upon that holy show
A tall, spare figure in a robe of white,
Whose eyes diffused a melancholy light.
"God keep you, strange," I exclaimed. "You are
No doubt (your habit shows it) from afar;
And yet I entertain the hope that you,
Like these good people, are a Christian too."
He raised his eyes and with a look so stern
It made me with a thousand blushes burn
Replied -- his manner with disdain was spiced:
"What! I a Christian? No, indeed! I'm Christ."
G.J.

THESAURUS

Christian

Christianlike, Christianly, Christlike, Christly, God-fearing man, Nazarene, Nazarite, accepted, accepter, adoring, affectionate, approved, authentic, authoritative, becoming, befitting, believer, believing, benign, benignant, blameless, brotherly, burgher, canonical, catechumen, churchgoer, churchite, churchman, civilized, clean, communicant, compassionate, conventional, convert, correct, creditable, cultish, cultist, cultistic, customary, daily communicant, decent, devoted, devotee, devotionalist, devout, disciple, done, dutiful, erect, estimable, ethical, evangelical, exemplary citizen, fair, faithful, fanatic, firm, follower, fraternal, full of integrity, good, good Christian, good citizen, good neighbor, gracious, high-minded, high-principled, highly respectable, honest, honorable, human, humane, immaculate, inviolate, irreproachable, just, kind, kindhearted, kindly, kindly-disposed, law-abiding, law-loving, law-revering, literal, loving, manly, moral, neophyte, nice, noble, of the faith, orthodox, orthodoxical, pietist, pietistic, pillar of society, pious, prayerful, principled, proper, proselyte, pure, received, receiver, religionist, religious, reputable, respectable, respectable citizen, reverent, reverential, right, right-minded, righteous, saint, scriptural, seemly, softhearted, solemn, sound, spotless, stainless, standard, sterling, sympathetic, sympathizing, tender, tenderhearted, textual, theist, theistic, traditional, traditionalistic, true, true Christian, true-blue, true-dealing, true-devoted, true-disposing, true-souled, true-spirited, truehearted, truster, unblemished, uncorrupt, uncorrupted, undefiled, unimpeachable, unspotted, unstained, unsullied, untarnished, upright, uprighteous, upstanding, venerational, venerative, virtuous, votary, warm, warmhearted, worshipful, worthy, yeomanly, zealot

ROGET THESAURUS

Christian

Orthodoxy

N orthodoxy, strictness, soundness, religious truth, true faith, truth, soundness of doctrine, Christianity, Christianism, Catholicism, Catholicity, the faith once delivered to the saints, hyperorthodoxy, iconoclasm, The Church, Catholic Church, Universal Church, Apostolic Church, Established Church, temple of the Holy Ghost, Church of Christ, body of Christ, members of Christ, disciples of Christ, followers of Christ, Christian, Christian community, true believer, canonist, Christendom, collective body of Christians, canons, thirty nine articles, Apostles' Creed, Nicene Creed, Athanasian Creed, Church Catechism, textuary, orthodox, sound, strick, faithful, catholic, schismless, Christian, evangelical, scriptural, divine, monotheistic, true, of the true faith, orthodoxy, strictness, soundness, religious truth, true faith, truth, soundness of doctrine, Christianity, Christianism, Catholicism, Catholicity, the faith once delivered to the saints, hyperorthodoxy, iconoclasm, The Church, Catholic Church, Universal Church, Apostolic Church, Established Church, temple of the Holy Ghost, Church of Christ, body of Christ, members of Christ, disciples of Christ, followers of Christ, Christian, Christian community, true believer, canonist, Christendom, collective body of Christians, canons, thirty nine articles, Apostles' Creed, Nicene Creed, Athanasian Creed, Church Catechism, textuary, orthodox, sound, strick, faithful, catholic, schismless, Christian, evangelical, scriptural, divine, monotheistic, true, of the true faith.

Piety

N piety, religion, theism, faith, religiousness, holiness, saintship, religionism, sanctimony, reverence, humility, veneration, devotion, prostration, grace, unction, edification, sanctity, sanctitude, consecration, spiritual existence, odor of sanctity, beauty of holiness, theopathy, beatification, adoption, regeneration, conversion, justification, sanctification, salvation, inspiration, bread of life, Body and Blood of Christ, believer, convert, theist, Christian, devotee, pietist, the good, the righteous, the just, the believing, the elect, Saint, Madonna, Notre Dame, Our Lady, the children of God, the children of the Kingdom, the children of the light, pious, religious, devout, devoted, reverent, godly, heavenly- minded, humble, pure, holy, spiritual, pietistic, saintly, saint-like, seraphic, sacred, solemn, believing, faithful, Christian, Catholic, elected, adopted, justified, sanctified, regenerated, inspired, consecrated, converted, unearthly, not of the earth, ne vile fano, pure-eyed Faith, thou hovering angel girt with golden wings, piety, religion, theism, faith, religiousness, holiness, saintship, religionism, sanctimony, reverence, humility, veneration, devotion, prostration, grace, unction, edification, sanctity, sanctitude, consecration, spiritual existence, odor of sanctity, beauty of holiness, theopathy, beatification, adoption, regeneration, conversion, justification, sanctification, salvation, inspiration, bread of life, Body and Blood of Christ, believer, convert, theist, Christian, devotee, pietist, the good, the righteous, the just, the believing, the elect, Saint, Madonna, Notre Dame, Our Lady, the children of God, the children of the Kingdom, the children of the light, pious, religious, devout, devoted, reverent, godly, heavenly- minded, humble, pure, holy, spiritual, pietistic, saintly, saint-like, seraphic, sacred, solemn, believing, faithful, Christian, Catholic, elected, adopted, justified, sanctified, regenerated, inspired, consecrated, converted, unearthly, not of the earth, ne vile fano, pure-eyed Faith, thou hovering angel girt with golden wings.