Talk:chrismon
Add topicI spent a lot of time on this, and I now think, based on the information cited at crismon, that this is a ghost-word with no real etymology: crismon turns up in a single paragraph in a random 12th century text (or manuscript) as a mistake for crisma. The text is a local history of Milan, and the word becomes associated with an ancient XP-symbol in Milan Cathedral, which becomes known as "the Chrismon of Saint Ambrose". When they refurbish the cathedral in the 1660s, they put up a nice label identifying the symbol as such. From there, the term enters Neo-Latin as a word for the XP-symbol. The term enters German scholarship in the context of studying the sigils in early medieval charters, and eventually (19th century) also English (mostly just for the XP-symbol). The χρήσιμα etymology suggested in du Cange (18th century) is just a learned grasping at straws. Finally, in the early(?) 20th century, the "CHRISt-MONOgram" thing is suggested as a not-so-learned attempt with the word's revival for use in modern Christianity ("w:Chrismon tree"). Dbachmann (talk) 06:30, 4 August 2016 (UTC)