churching en · NOUN
Meanings
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(countable, uncountable) The ceremonial blessing of a woman who has given birth.
The clergyman had to dine some distance from town, and had got two churchings, three christenings, and a funeral, to perform in something less than an hour.
1834, Charles Dickens, “The Bloomsbury Christening”, in Sketches by Boz:As discussed in detail by Caroline Shenton, the churchings of Queen Philippa, for which the details following Isabella's birth in 1333 survive, represented a 'gigantic festival of a family whose start in life had been extremely unsteady'.
2010, Chris Given-Wilson, Fourteenth Century England VI, page 145:The churching of women traditionally includes thanksgiving for the women's survival of childbirth.
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| churchings | Number=Plur | lexicographic |
Translations (4)
uk ви́від (Translations) · uk уво́дини (Translations) · sco kirking (Translations) · sv kyrktagning (Translations)