Christian

[kris-chuh n]

adjective

of, relating to, or derived from Jesus Christ or His teachings: a Christian faith.

of, pertaining to, believing in, or belonging to the religion based on the teachings of Jesus Christ: Spain is a Christian country.

of or relating to Christians: many Christian deaths in the Crusades.

exhibiting a spirit proper to a follower of Jesus Christ; Christlike: She displayed true Christian charity.

decent; respectable: They gave him a good Christian burial.

human; not brutal; humane: Such behavior isn't Christian.

noun

a person who believes in Jesus Christ; adherent of Christianity.

a person who exemplifies in his or her life the teachings of Christ: He died like a true Christian.

a member of any of certain Protestant churches, as the Disciples of Christ and the Plymouth Brethren.

the hero of Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress.

a male given name.

Origin of Christian

1250–1300; < Latin Chrīstiānus < Greek Chrīstiānós, equivalent to Chrīst(ós) Christ + -iānos < Latin -iānus -ian; replacing Middle English, Old English cristen < Latin, as above

Christian

[kris-chuh n]

noun

Charlie,1916–42, U.S. jazz guitarist.

Christian IX

noun

1818–1906, king of Denmark 1863–1906.

Christian X

noun

1870–1947, king of Denmark 1912–47.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for christian

religious, pious, virtuous, honest, proper, honorable, principled, humane, divine, orthodox, scriptural, apostolic, evangelic, clean, conscientious, correct, decent, elevated, equitable, fair

Examples from the Web for christian

Contemporary Examples of christian

But the enemy of the new emirs is neither the Jew nor the Christian, it is the godless militant defending secularism.
Houellebecq’s Incendiary Novel Imagines France With a Muslim President
Pierre Assouline
January 9, 2015
The breakdown of the 114th Congress is 80 percent white, 80 percent male, and 92 percent Christian.
The Unbearable Whiteness of Congress
Dean Obeidallah
January 8, 2015
Congress is now 92 percent Christian, resembling more to a papal enclave than our religiously diverse nation.
The Unbearable Whiteness of Congress
Dean Obeidallah
January 8, 2015
Within a few swipes, I was already feeling that burst of romantic optimism you need the first day of the (Christian) new year.
My Week on Jewish Tinder
Emily Shire
January 5, 2015
My understanding was that according to most Christian beliefs, being trans or gay was a sin, cut and dry.
Dear Leelah, We Will Fight On For You: A Letter to a Dead Trans Teen
Parker Molloy
January 1, 2015

Historical Examples of christian

One might have been a model for the seraphs of Christian faith, the other an Olympian deity.
Philothea
Lydia Maria Child
Now, that's healthy doin's fur a two-fisted Christian, ain't it?
The Spenders
Harry Leon Wilson
Mr. Malbone would hardly imagine you had been bred in a Christian land.
Malbone
Thomas Wentworth Higginson
Christian Greece weaker than at any time since she became a kingdom.
The Grand Old Man
Richard B. Cook
Do, some kind Christian, pump a stroke or two, just to wet my whistle.
A Rill from the Town Pump (From "Twice Told Tales")
Nathaniel Hawthorne

British Dictionary definitions for christian

Christian

noun

a person who believes in and follows Jesus Christ
a member of a Christian Church or denomination

informal a person who possesses Christian virtues, esp practical ones

adjective

of, relating to, or derived from Jesus Christ, his teachings, example, or his followers

(sometimes not capital) exhibiting kindness or goodness

Derived FormsChristianly, adjective, adverb

Christian

noun

Charlie. 1919–42, US jazz guitarist

Christian X

noun

1890–1947, king of Denmark (1912–47) and Iceland (1918–44)

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for christian

Christian

n., adj.

16c., forms replacing earlier Christen, from Old English cristen (noun and adjective), from a West Germanic borrowing of Church Latin christianus, from Ecclesiastical Greek christianos, from Christos (see Christ). First used in Antioch, according to Acts xi:25-26. Christian Science as the name of a religious sect is from 1863.

christian in Culture

Christian

A follower or disciple of Jesus; someone who believes Jesus is the Christ or Messiah. The New Testament mentions that the followers of Jesus were first called Christians within a few years after his death.

Christian

A follower of Jesus and his teachings. Christian is also a descriptive term for the institutions and practices of Christianity.