(in the Christian Church)the religious rite of sprinkling water on to a person's forehead or of immersing them in water, symbolizing purification or regeneration and admission to the Christian Church. In many denominations, baptism is performed on young children and is accompanied by name-giving.
（基督教用语）浸礼，洗礼（用水撒前额或将人浸入水中，以涤罪或再生，并表示入教。在许多教会，幼儿洗礼与取名同时进行）。
[count noun]a ceremony or occasion at which this takes place
洗礼仪式。
〈喻〉初次体验；考验
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this event constituted his baptism as a politician .这次事件成为他作为政治家的洗礼。
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baptism of fire a difficult or painful new undertaking or experience 火的洗礼；严峻考验 -
［origin from the original sense of ‘a soldier's first battle’．］
"Middle English： from Old French