Faith & RitualGreek → English
Baptistery
/ˈbæptɪstri/noun
The part of a church, or a separate building, that holds the font used for baptism.
The Greek roots
βαπτίζω
baptízō
to dip, immerse
-ήριον
-ḗrion
place for
Literally: “place for dipping”
The story of the word
βάπτω is to dip cloth into dye; βαπτίζω is its stronger form, to plunge or to drown, which is what full immersion meant to the early church. Italian cities built the baptistery as its own octagonal building, eight sides for the eighth day of resurrection, and Florence's is older than the cathedral standing beside it. Dante was baptised in that one and called it his beautiful San Giovanni.
- How it travelled
- Ancient Greek → Latin → Old French → English
- First recorded
- 14th century
Same family
baptizebaptismAnabaptist
In a sentence
The baptistery is kept locked except on the two days a year they use it.