Christian

How to spell christian

9 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce christian

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does christian mean?

1. adjectiveRelating to the religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ, or to its followers.
2. nounA person who follows or believes in the teachings of Jesus Christ.

Christian in a sentence

• adjective

  The couple chose a small christian ceremony at the village church.

• noun

  As a practising christian, he attended services every Sunday.

• adjective

  Many christian charities run food banks in the city.

• noun

  The survey asked whether each respondent identified as a christian or otherwise.

Where does christian come from?

Language of origin: Greek

This word traces back to the Greek Khristos, meaning 'the anointed one', which was itself a translation of the Hebrew title mashiach, 'messiah'. From Khristos the Greeks formed Khristianos to describe a follower of Christ, and that term passed into Latin as Christianus before reaching English. The word entered Old English very early through Latin and church usage, and the spelling has clung faithfully to its Greek root ever since, which is exactly why the silent, classical 'ch' sits at the front rather than a plain 'k'. The same Khristos root quietly survives in everyday words like 'christen' and 'Christmas'. The trickiest spot for writers is the middle: the unstressed '-tian' ending sounds like 'chun', tempting a misspelling, while the silent 'h' after the opening 'c' is easy to drop.

How the word is built

• Christ- (from Greek Khristos: the anointed one)
• -ian (adjective/noun suffix meaning 'belonging to or following')