χριστοῦ; [13 verses](noun sg masc gen) "Christ" is christos, which means "to be rubbed with salve," "used as an ointment," and, of persons, "anointed." -- (UW) The word translated as "Christ" means "anointed." Our word is basically the English form of the Greek word, not a translation. In the NT, it is understood to mean the Messiah, following the anointing of the kings of Israel. The Jews of Jesus's era thought they understood who the Messiah was and the source of his authority. He was a descendant of David, and his authority came from David as "the anointed" king of the Jews. The Hebrew word for "anointed" is mashiach (מָשִׁיחַ), which is the source of our word, "messiah." (UW --Untranslated Word -- The word "christ" means "annointed." It is an untranslated Greek word adopted into English.