But what are you REALLY trying to say?

“The Greek word baptize, which we borrow, was of very common use, as is seen in every period of Greek literature and was applied to a great variety of matters, including the most familiar acts of everyday life.  It was thus a word which every Greek speaking hearer and reader in apostolic times would at once and clearly understand.  It meant what we express by ‘immerse’ and kindred terms, and no one could then have thought of attributing to it a wholly different sense, such as ‘sprinkle’ or ‘pour’ without distinct explanation to that effect…..[speaking of protestants who sprinkle]. Such are the unavoidable defects of language, that strongly biased and ingenious minds can always cast some apparent doubt over the mean of the plainest words.”  John Broadus