baptize

English

Alternative forms

Etymology

    From Middle English baptisen, baptizen, from Old French baptiser, batisier, from Ecclesiastical Latin, Late Latin baptizāre, from Ancient Greek βαπτίζω (baptízō, “to immerse, plunge, baptize”).[1]

    Pronunciation

    • IPA(key): /ˈbæptaɪz/
      • (US) IPA(key): [ˈbæp.tajz]
      • (Ghana) IPA(key): [bapˈtajz]
    • Audio (Australia):(file)
    • Hyphenation: bap‧tize

    Verb

    baptize (third-person singular simple present baptizes, present participle baptizing, simple past and past participle baptized) (American spelling, Oxford British English)

    1. (Christianity) To perform the sacrament of baptism by immersing someone in water or sprinkling or pouring water over them.
      Synonyms: christen, full
    2. (figurative) To Christianize.
      • 2000 June 17, Elizabeth A. Johnson, “Mary of Nazareth: Friend of God and Prophet”, in America‎[1], volume 182, number 21, archived from the original on 30 August 2026:
        Ample evidence for this transfer of divine imagery can be found in early Christian times, when the Mother of God took over the titles, shrines, iconography and power of the great mother goddess of the Mediterranean world. This "baptizing" of pagan imagery was a successful missionary strategy that allowed Christianity to attract peoples accustomed to female deities while still maintaining faith in God as Father, Son and Holy Spirit
    3. To dedicate or christen.
    4. (archaic, slang) Of rum, brandy, or any other spirits, to dilute with water.
      • 1965, The Road to Santiago: Pilgrims of St. James, page 194:
        There's a good tavern nearby where they don't baptize liquor!
      • 1973, Robert Speaight, Shakespeare on the Stage:
        In 1833 Charles Kingsley wrote of the Royal Victora Hall in the Waterloo Road as 'a licensed pit of darkness'. The darkness remained unrelieved until, in 1880, Miss Emma Cons took over the lease and baptized the drinks that were served at the bar and the songs that were sung on the stage.
      • 2007, Walter Scott Dunn, Choosing Sides on the Frontier in the American Revolution, →ISBN, page 91:
        The general practice in the West Indies was to baptize, add color, and otherwise adulterate rum to make it appear better.
    5. (slang) To ensure proper burning of a joint by moistening the exterior with saliva.
    6. (slang) To extinguish the life of.
      Synonyms: wax, wet, juice up; see also Thesaurus:kill
      • 2022 April 26, “Bad for Business”, OTM ft. Young Bull (lyrics), 1:21:
        Nigga actin tough on the net, Imma baptize him, .223 shells and he’s shot like I am Mad Ryan
        Put him in a coffin, hold him one year, he is no longer
        Fucking on an opp nigger, bitch he sayin “go longer!”
      • 2023 September 28, “Block Boy”, #Sinsquad Stewie (lyrics)‎[2], 1:58:
        I'm on frontstreet over them sides
        Catch an opp lackin', leave him baptised
        Bro up the Glock, don't freeze
        Big rambo, inject with ease (Wet that)

    Derived terms

    Descendants

    • → Hawaiian: papekiko
    • → Jamaican Creole: baptaiz

    Translations

    References

    1. ^ “baptize”, in The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th edition, Boston, Mass.: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2016, →ISBN.

    Middle English

    Etymology 1

    Noun

    baptize

    1. alternative form of bapteme

    Etymology 2

    Verb

    baptize

    1. alternative form of baptisen

    Portuguese

    Verb

    baptize

    1. inflection of baptizar:
      1. first/third-person singular present subjunctive
      2. third-person singular imperative
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