chrisom

[kriz-uhm]

noun

1. chrism.

2. a white cloth or robe put on a person at baptism to signify innocence.

chrisom

/ ˈkrɪzəm /

noun

1. Christianity a white robe put on an infant at baptism and formerly used as a burial shroud if the infant died soon afterwards

2. archaic,  an infant wearing such a robe

3. a variant spelling of chrism

Word History and Origins

Origin of chrisom¹

1400–50; late Middle English krysom, crysum, variant of chrism

Example Sentences

The chrisom was a white baptismal robe with which, in mediæval times, a child, when christened, was enveloped.

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In Graunt’s “Bills of Mortality,” cited in Johnson’s Dictionary, we read: “When the convulsions were but were but few, the number of chrisoms and infants was greater.”

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When children died within the month they were called chrisoms.

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At her churching a woman was expected to make some offering to the church, such as the chrisom or alb thrown over the child at christening.

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He died like a lamb, or, as men call it, like a chrisom child, quietly and without fear.'

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