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.]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.