3  definitions  found 
 
  From  Webster's  Revised  Unabridged  Dictionary  (1913)  [web1913]: 
 
  Baptism  \Bap"tism\,  n.  [OE.  baptim,  baptem  OE  baptesme 
  batisme  F.  bapt[^e]me,  L.  baptisma,  fr  Gr  ?,  fr  ?  to 
  baptize,  fr  ?  to  dip  in  water,  akin  to  ?  deep,  Skr.  g[=a]h 
  to  dip,  bathe,  v.  i.] 
  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. 
 
  From  WordNet  r  1.6  [wn]: 
 
  baptism 
  n  :  a  Christian  sacrament  signifying  spiritual  cleansing  and 
  rebirth;  "most  churches  baptize  infants  but  some  insist 
  on  adult  baptism" 
 
  From  THE  DEVIL'S  DICTIONARY  ((C)1911  Released  April  15  1993)  [devils]: 
 
  BAPTISM,  n.  A  sacred  rite  of  such  efficacy  that  he  who  finds  himself 
  in  heaven  without  having  undergone  it  will  be  unhappy  forever.  It  is 
  performed  with  water  in  two  ways  --  by  immersion,  or  plunging,  and  by 
  aspersion,  or  sprinkling. 
 
  But  whether  the  plan  of  immersion 
  Is  better  than  simple  aspersion 
  Let  those  immersed 
  And  those  aspersed 
  Decide  by  the  Authorized  Version, 
  And  by  matching  their  agues  tertian. 
  G.J. 
 
 

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