Kris Kringle

AI In plain words

Writing a short explanation…

Written by a house AI from the entry below, in your language. The entry itself is the source.

Kris Kringle

/ˌkɹɪs ˈkɹɪŋɡ(ə)l/ US, UK

Rhymes with -ɪŋɡəl

Where it comes from

Borrowed in a modified form from Pennsylvania German Christ-kinkle, from German Christkindl (“(dialectal diminutive) Christ Child”), Christkind (“Christ Child”), from Christ (“Christ”) + Kindl (dialectal diminutive), Kind (“child”).

proper noun Kris Kringles · Kris Kringel · Kriss Kringel · Kriss Kingle · Kriss Kringle

US Synonym of Christkind (“a personification of the baby Jesus who, in German-speaking parts of Europe, takes the place of Santa Claus in bringing gifts to people at Christmastime”). The Dutch of New Netherlands called the good giver of gifts, Kriss Kringle, the Christ Child, and the name came into our family vocabulary through our Dutch ancestor, Great-grandfather Wible.
Similar: Christkind
US Synonym of Santa Claus. Now is not "Kriss Kingle" a nice, fat, good-humored looking man. See how eagerly those little boys embrace him, hoping that he will give them some nice little present or other. Mr. "Kriss Kingle" loves good little boys and girls, and if they behave and mind what their parents tell them, they may res
Similar: Santa Claus

noun Kris Kringles

US Synonym of secret Santa (“a Christmas tradition where a group of people give anonymous gifts to each other, with each person randomly selected to give a gift to one other person; a person who anonymously gives a present to another in such a gift exchange”). [A] time is usually set aside for the Kris Kringles to be performed, such as by the end of the week or the month, or by Christmas or Easter. [...] Kris Kringles are kind deeds or little gifts or surprises done for the person whose name was drawn without that person knowing the source of the Kris Kri
Similar: secret Santa
US A gift given in a Kris Kringle or secret Santa gift exchange. If you're working on a budget, finding a thoughtful Kris Kringle can bring on a headache … or two.

Talk about this word

Cite this

MLA

"Kris Kringle." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/kris%20kringle. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

Kris Kringle. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/kris%20kringle

Chicago

"Kris Kringle." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/kris%20kringle.

BibTeX

@misc{kris_kringle_2026,
  title = {Kris Kringle},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/kris%20kringle},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}