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Glite Dictionary
🚢 To name officially 👶 To baptize
to christen

to christen

10 4.7
To officially give a name to someone or something in a ceremony
  • verb
  • /ˈkrɪsən/
translation icon : bautizar
  • The couple decided to christen their new baby at a special ceremony this weekend.
  • the new ship was christened

I think we should re christen them if they think they can use their enormous power to, you know, piss off the GOP, piss off the British Conservative Party.

Examples

  • The new bird was christened Eoalulavis, "early bird with alula."

    Academic text (1998)

  • The Polo Lounge was christened in 1941 in honor of Will Rogers and Darryl Zanuck.

    Blog text (27)

  • Hey, you feel like christening the new house?

    30 Nights of Paranormal Activity With the Devil Inside the Girl With the Dragon Tattoo (2013)

  • When we first moved into this house, we... we christened every room.

    The Hand That Rocks the Cradle (1992)

  • And they christened the nation Zero-One.

    The Animatrix (2003)

  • Harry and Meghan have christened their daughter Princess Lilibet Diana.

  • Our first animal was memorable, a young female christened Paskalina by our assistants for Easter Day of her capture.

    Academic text (1992)

  • The probe itself was christened Huygens, after the seventeenth-century Dutch astronomer.

    Academic text (2004)

  • In the Solomons, the commander christened two islands, "Bougainville" and "Choiseul," taking possession while warding off native attacks.

    Fiction book (1991)

  • Only a month after the November 1783 Treaty of Augusta, Georgia legislators christened the land between the Ogeechee and Oconee rivers "Washington County."

    Academic text (2011)

Synonyms

to name
vsto christen
∞ 1.0

To give a word people use to identify someone or something

is performed in a formal ceremony to make the title official

Phrasal Verbs

to christen after
6.8

To give a child a name that honors another person

to christen the new ship
  • Formal
7.0

Give a new ship its name at a ceremony

How Specific

to christen
10 4.7
to name
∞ 1.0
to call
∞ 1.0
to refer
818 2.4

Surface Forms

christen infinitive
christened past
christened past participle
christening present participle
christens third person singular

Morphology

christen = Christ (semi-transparent) = christ + en

Derived from the religious meaning 'to baptize/give a Christian name' but extended metaphorically to secular naming ceremonies (e.g., ships), so the connection is visible but somewhat shifted.

Etymology

The word christen also means to give a name in a special ceremony. This sense comes from the church idea around Christ and baptism, so we now 'christen' ships, buildings or events to mark their first use and give them a name.