Hypertext Webster Gateway: "baptism"
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Baptism \Bap"tism\, n. [OE. baptim, baptem, OE. baptesme,
batisme, F. bapt[^e]me, L. baptisma, fr. Gr. ?, fr. ? to
baptize, fr. ? to dip in water, akin to ? deep, Skr. g[=a]h
to dip, bathe, v. i.]
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.
From WordNet (r) 1.7 (wn)
baptism
n : a Christian sacrament signifying spiritual cleansing and
rebirth; "most churches baptize infants but some insist
on adult baptism"
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