Definition 1: The Western name of a man born in Bethlehem some 2003 years ago, a birth Christians throughout the world celebrate today.

Usage 1: Jesus Christ is believed by some to be the Son of God, by others to be his prophet but by all to be the source of Christian doctrine that continues its struggle against the evil of the world even today. The adjective is "Christian," which has a noun, "Christianity" referring both to the doctrine of Christ and all believers in that doctrine as a single body.

Suggested usage: While Christians take Jesus Christ as the son of God, the Koran accepts him as a prophet on a level with Moses. Christians accept the teachings of Moses in their Bible as precursors of those of Christ. Thus, the turmoil between Jews and the Christians in World War II, the Jews and the Muslims in the Middle East, and the wars between Christians and Muslims over the past millennium—all reflect the bitterest irony of the common history of our morality. Let us all pray even harder this Christmas for an end to it all.

Etymology: The man taken by millions to be the savior of mankind came from lowly origins to become one of the most important religious figures of all time. His name reflects admirably his common origin. The original root from which "Christ" is derived is *ghrei- "to rub." Contracted to *ghri- and suffixed with –s it became Germanic *gris- "frighten" which underlies "grisly." Suffixed with –m, it gave us "grime" from Old Germanic *grim "smear." In Greek it emerges as khriein "to anoint," whose past participle, khristos "anointed" (as in Jesus the Anointed) has been adopted in the West as a second name for Jesus of Nazareth. (Today's Christmas present originated with Al Crabb many months ago; we hope it was worth the wait. All of us at yourDictionary wish a very Merry Christmas to all of our readers, whatever their beliefs.)