Where does “Christian” come from?
Christian (Danish) comes from Latin Christiānus, from Latin Chrīstus, from Ancient Greek Χριστός, from Ancient Greek χρίω, from Proto-Indo-European gʰrēy-, from Proto-Indo-European gʰer- — to rub; to stroke; to grind.
Ancestry of “Christian”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Latin | Christiānus | — |
| 2 | Latin | Chrīstus | — |
| 3 | Ancient Greek | Χριστός | anointed; messiah; annointed, the annointed one,... |
| 4 | Ancient Greek | χρίω | to smear with , rub on something; to anoint with... |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | gʰrēy- | to smear; to paint, streak, smear |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | gʰer- | to rub; to stroke; to grind |
Words derived from “Christian”