christianity
UK /ˌkɹɪstiˈænɪti/ · US /ˌkɹɪst͡ʃiˈænɪti/ proper noun
Forms Christianities
- proper noun An Abrahamic religion originating from the community of the followers of Jesus Christ.
- proper noun (Hong Kong, Philippines) Protestantism (in contrast to Catholicism)
- proper noun Christendom, the Christian world
Synonyms
Etymology
From Middle English Cristiente, Cristente, borrowed from Old French crestienté, from Medieval Latin stem of Chrīstiānitās, from Latin christianus, Christianus, from Ancient Greek Χριστιανός (Khristianós), from Χριστός (Khristós, “Christ, anointed one”) + Latin -anus (“suffix for of, related to”) + one more suffix borrowed from Latin "ity" makes the final Christian + -ity. The term was respelled in the early modern English period to more closely reflect its Latin etymon.
Webster’s 1913
- noun The religion of Christians; the system of doctrines and precepts taught by Christ.
- noun Practical conformity of one's inward and outward life to the spirit of the Christian religion
Etymology [OE. cristiente, OF. cristienté, F. chrétienté, fr. L. christianitas.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “christianity”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details