Definition of Baptist noun from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary



BrE BrE//ˈbæptɪst//
; NAmE NAmE//ˈbæptɪst//
Types of belief, Religious people
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a member of a Christian Protestant Church that believes that baptism should take place when a person is old enough to understand what it means, and not as a baby Culture The Baptist church is the largest group of Protestant Christians in the US, with over 38 million members around the world, including a small number in Britain. The group was formed in England in the early 17th century by people who disagreed with other Protestants about the ceremony of baptism. Baptists believe in putting a new member of the Church completely under water during baptism. They also believe that baptism should be for adults and not for children, because they think that children are not old enough to understand what the ceremony means. See related entries: Types of belief, Religious people Word Origin Middle English (in the sense of someone who baptizes someone else): from Old French baptiste, via ecclesiastical Latin from ecclesiastical Greek baptistēs, from baptizein ‘immerse, baptize’.

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