chrismon
chrismon noun: a Christogram.
Noun
chrismon (plural chrismons or chrisma)
- A Christogram.
- The sacred monogram or chrismon was extensively used by Constantine […] a crown of gold, enclosing the chrismon or mysterious monogram1869, Chambers's Journal, page 818
- A stylised siglum or character interpreted as an invocation of Christ in Merovingian and Carolingian documents.
- The document usually begins with a verbal invocation (such as In Dei nomine, amen) or a chrismon (often Christ's monogram formed from the letters XP)1970, Encyclopedia Britannica, volume 7, page 478
- A Christmas decoration with explicitly Christian religious symbolism.
- Chrismons were first made as tree decorations by members of the Lutheran Church of the Ascension, Daville, Va., in 1957.1964, The Lutheran Witness, volume 83, page 548
Forms of chrismon
| plural | chrismons |
|---|---|
| plural | chrisma |
Origin of chrismon
From Medieval Latin crismon (New Latin chrismus, chrismum, chrismos), of uncertain origin. In the 18th century adopted in German as Chrismon or Chrismum, plural Chrismen. English in the 19th century. The word was revived for a type of Christmas decoration in the mid 20th century, now with a popular etymology of its being a portmanteau of Christus + monogram.
Questions about chrismon
- What does chrismon mean?
- Chrismon means a Christogram.
- What part of speech is chrismon?
- Chrismon is a noun.
- What is the plural of chrismon?
- The plural of chrismon is chrismons.
Words near chrismon in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: chrismon (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
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