Chrisom
/ˈkrɪz.əm/noun
A white cloth or garment formerly used to wrap a newly baptized infant, or a child dying before baptism.
Did you know?Chrisom comes from the same root as *Christ*, because the cloth was associated with the anointing oil and sacred status of baptism in the Christian ritual world.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*ghrei-
“to rub, smear”
Ancient Greek
Greek
χρῖσμα (khrîsma)
“an anointing, an ointment, a rubbing with oil”
Late Latin
Latin
chrisma
“anointing oil; consecrated unction”
Old English
English
crism
“the chrism used in baptism; later the white baptismal cloth”
Middle English
English
chrisom
“a white baptismal cloth or garment for an infant”
Modern English
English
chrisom
“an archaic term for the baptismal cloth or a child dying before baptism”