n. Ecclesiastical 1. A consecrated mixture of oil and balsam, used for anointing in church sacraments such as baptism and confirmation. Also called holy oil. 2. A sacramental anointing, especially upon confirmation into the Eastern Orthodox Church. [Middle English crisme, chrism, chrisom, from Old English crisma, from Latin chrīsma, from Greek khrīsma, an anointing, from khrīein, to anoint; see ghrēi- in the Appendix of Indo-European roots.] chrismal (krĭzməl) adj. |
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