baptism

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

1. n. A religious sacrament marked by the symbolic application of water to the head or immersion of the body into water and resulting in admission of the recipient into the community of Christians.
2. n. A ceremony, trial, or experience by which one is initiated, purified, or given a name.

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

1. n. A sacrament or ordinance of the Christian church, instituted by Christ as an initiatory rite, consisting in the immersion of the person in water, or in the application of water to the person by affusion or by sprinkling, by an authorized administrator, “in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.” The proper signification of the rite, the proper subjects of it, and the proper methods of administering it, are matters of dispute in the Christian church. In Protestant churches it is generally regarded as a symbol of purification, a rite of initiation into the visible church of Christ, and a sign ratifying God's covenant with his people. In the Roman Catholic Church baptism is the sacrament of initiation into the church of Christ, consisting essentially in the application of water to the person baptized by one having the intention of conferring the sacrament, and who pronounces at the same time the words, “N., I baptize thee in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.” The Greek formula, “The servant of God is baptized in the name,” etc., is also recognized as valid. In all branches of the church a layman may, in case of necessity, administer baptism. In the Roman Catholic, Greek, and most Protestant churches, infant children are admitted to baptism; but among the various Baptist denominations only those are admitted who give credible evidence of possessing a Christian experience. Among them, also, it is generally performed by immersion, which they regard as the Scriptural mode. This is also the common mode in the Eastern churches; in the Western churches sprinkling or pouring is commonly substituted. The Friends reject all baptism with water, regarding Christian baptism as spiritual only.
2. n. Any ceremonial ablution intended as a sign of purification, dedication, etc.: as, the baptism administered by John the Baptist, or that administered to proselytes by the ancient Jews; the baptism or christening of bells, ships, and other objects in the Roman Catholic Church, etc.
3. n. Martyrdom.
4. n. Same as baptismal character (which see, under baptismal).

Wiktionary

1. n. The Bible Baptist Christian personal ordinance in which one is submerged in water.
2. n. The Christian sacrament in which one is anointed with or submerged in water and sometimes given a name.
3. n. A similar ceremony of initiation, purification or naming.

GNU Webster's 1913

1. n. The act of baptizing; the application of water to a person, as a sacrament or religious ceremony, by which he is initiated into the visible church of Christ. This is performed by immersion, sprinkling, or pouring.

WordNet 3.0

1. n. a Christian sacrament signifying spiritual cleansing and rebirth