chrism (English)

Where does "chrism" come from?

The English noun 'chrism' has a long history tracing back to Proto-Indo-European[1]. The term descends through Middle English 'crisme' and Late Old English 'crisma'[1]. These earlier forms trace back through Medieval Latin 'crisma' and Ecclesiastical Latin 'chrisma' to Ancient Greek 'χρῖσμα', meaning 'anointing' or 'unction'[1]. The Greek noun is formed from 'χρίω', meaning 'to smear or rub with' or 'to coat'[3]. Ultimately, this ancient Greek root connects to the Proto-Indo-European base '*gʰrey-', meaning 'to smear' or 'to rub'[1][6][7].

Open questions

The Proto-Indo-European root is reconstructed as '*gʰrey-' and may be an extension of '*gʰer-'. [6] [7]

Full etymology tree

chrism (English), 'A mixture of oil and balm, consecrated for use as an anointing fluid in certain Christian ceremonies, especially confirmation.'
- inherited crisme (Middle English), 'chrism (mix of oil and balsam)'
  - inherited crisma (Old English), 'chrism'
    - borrowed crisma (Medieval Latin)
      - derived chrisma (Latin), 'anointing, unction'
        derived χρῖσμα (khrîsma) (Ancient Greek), 'anointing, unction'
        derived χρίω (khríō) (Ancient Greek), 'to smear with [with dative ‘something’], rub [with dative ‘something’] on something; to anoint with olive oil'
        inherited *gʰrey(H)- (Proto-Indo-European)
        derived *gʰer- (Proto-Indo-European), 'to yearn for'
        suffix -μα (-ma) (Ancient Greek), 'Added to verbal stems to form neuter nouns denoting the effect or result of an action, a particular instance of an action, or the object of an action'

Ancestors

*gʰrey- (Proto-Indo-European)
crisme (Middle English)
crisma (Old English)
chrisma (Latin)
χρῖσμα (Ancient Greek)

Descendants and derived words

chrismation (English)
hoplochrism (English)

Sources

Updated September 2026

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Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris