Christkind

English

Etymology

From German Christkind.

Proper noun

Christkind

  1. A personification of the baby Jesus who, in German-speaking parts of Europe, takes the place of Santa Claus

Synonyms

Translations

Translations

German

Etymology

Christ (“Christ”) +‎ Kind (“child”).

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈkʁɪstˌkɪnt/
  • Audio:(file)

Proper noun

Christkind n (proper noun, strong, genitive Christkindes or Christkinds, diminutive Christkindchen n or Christkindlein n)

  1. (Christianity) Baby Jesus
  2. A fictional angel-like creature, typically thought of as an apparition of Baby Jesus, which traditionally takes the place of Santa Claus as a bringer of Christmas presents in the German-language area, particularly but not exclusively in Catholic regions.

Noun

Christkind n (strong, genitive Christkindes or Christkinds, plural Christkinder)

  1. A representation of the Christkind (as above)
  2. (Austria, Southern Germany) Christmas gift
  3. (Austria, otherwise humorous) giver of a Christmas gift
  4. (humorous) someone born on Christmas Eve

Declension

Declension of Christkind [neuter, strong]
singular plural
indef. def. noun def. noun
nominative ein das Christkind die Christkinder
genitive eines des Christkindes, Christkinds der Christkinder
dative einem dem Christkind, Christkinde1 den Christkindern
accusative ein das Christkind die Christkinder

1Now rare, see notes.

Derived terms

  • Christkindel, Christkindelein, Christkindl, Christkindli, Christkindlin (additional diminutives, regional or archaic)

Descendants

  • → Cajun French: Christine

See also

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