Definify.com

Webster 1913 Edition

X

X

(ĕks)
.
X, the twenty-fourth letter of the English alphabet, has three sounds; a compound nonvocal sound (that of ks), as in wax; a compound vocal sound (that of gz), as in example; and, at the beginning of a word, a simple vocal sound (that of z), as in xanthic. See Guide to Pronunciation, §§ 217, 270, 271.
The form and value of X are from the Latin X, which is from the Greek Χ, which in some Greek alphabets had the value of ks, though in the one now in common use it represents an aspirated sound of k.

Webster 1828 Edition

X

X

, the twenty fourth letter of the English Alphabet, is borrowed from the Greek. In the middle and at the end of words, it has the sound of ks, as in wax, lax, luxury. At the beginning of a word, it has precisely the sound of z. It is used as an initial, in a few words borrowed from the Greek.
As a numeral, X stands for ten. It represents one V, which stands for five, placed on the top of another. When laid horizontally it stands for a thousand, and with a dash over it, it stands for ten thousand. As an abbreviation, X. Stands for Christ, and in Xn. Christian; Xm. Christmas.

Definition 2024

X

X


X U+0058, X
LATIN CAPITAL LETTER X
← W
[U+0057] 		Basic Latin Y →
[U+0059]
See also: Appendix:Variations of "x"

Translingual

Etymology 1

Letter

X upper case (lower case x)

  1. The twenty-fourth letter of the basic modern Latin alphabet.
See also

Numeral

Roman numeral
X Previous: IX
Next: XI

X

  1. (Roman numerals) The number 10.

Symbol

X

  1. A symbol of the IPA, representing a voiceless uvular fricative.
  2. (bowling) strike

Etymology 2

Possibly from skull and crossbones

Symbol

X

  1. A hazard indicator, sometimes incorporated into standard labelling and signage systems
Derived terms

See also

Other representations of X:

English

Numeral

X

  1. An unknown quantity or unknown value.
Translations

Etymology 2

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ks/, IPA(key): /ɡz/, or at the beginning of words IPA(key): /z/.

Letter

X ‎(upper case, lower case x, plural Xs or X's)

  1. The twenty-fourth letter of the English alphabet, called ex and written in the Latin script.
See also

Noun

X

  1. Any mark that looks like that letter, such as such a mark made by a person who cannot read or write, in lieu of a signature.
  2. (lacrosse) The spot behind the goal.
Derived terms
  • (signature mark): xoxo
Translations

Adjective

X ‎(not comparable)

  1. Intersex or non-binary (in passports and identification documents).

Etymology 3

Presumably by abbreviation of the pronunciation of ecstasy.

Noun

X ‎(uncountable)

  1. (slang) Ecstasy, a particular street drug.
    • 2008, Stephen King, Graduation Weekend
      Tonight the kids will go out and party down in a more righteous mode. Alcohol and not a few tabs of X will be ingested. Club music will throb through big speakers.

Translations

Etymology 4

Adjective

X ‎(not comparable)

  1. (Britain film certificate, dated) Suitable only for those aged 16 or (later) 18 years and over.
  2. (movie rating) Obscene.
    • 1976, Movie Maker (volume 10, issues 1-6, page 364)
      If you go to an X movie you do so knowingly, as does everyone else in the audience. Or if the same thing comes up on TV you can switch over, or, if you wish, enjoy it in relative privacy.
Translations

Etymology 5

From Christ by abbreviation, from Ancient Greek Χ ‎(Kh, “(letter chi)”), from Χριστός ‎(Khristós, “Christ”).

Proper noun

X

  1. (informal) Christ
Derived terms
Translations

Etymology 6

Sign reading “Pedestrian X” (Pedestrian Crossing)

From cross, due to the X symbol being a cross saltire.

Noun

X ‎(plural Xes)

  1. (Canada, US) Cross, crossing.
Derived terms
Translations

Etymology 7

As defined in CIE 1931 color space.

Noun

X ‎(uncountable)

  1. One of the tristimulus values which, with Y and Z, defines coordinates in a three-dimensional color space. Pronounced big X or cap X.
    • 2003, Charles A. Poynton, Digital Video and HDTV: Algorithms and Interfaces, ISBN 9781558607927, p. 217:
      X, Y and Z are pronounced big-X, big-Y, and big-Z, or cap-X, cap-Y, and cap-Z, to distinguish them from little x and little y, to be described in a moment.
Translations

Derived terms

American Sign Language

Letter

‎(Stokoe X)

  1. The letter X

Azeri

Letter

X upper case (lower case x)

  1. The twelfth letter of the Azeri alphabet, written in the Latin script.

See also

Dutch

Pronunciation

  • (letter name): IPA(key): /ɪks/

Letter

X ‎(capital, lowercase x)

  1. The twenty-fourth letter of the Dutch alphabet.

See also

  • Previous letter: W
  • Next letter: Y

Esperanto

Abbreviation

X

  1. (text messaging) Abbreviation of aŭ ‎(“or”).

See also

Finnish

Letter

X ‎(upper case, lower case x)

  1. The twenty-third letter of the Finnish alphabet, called äks or eks and written in the Latin script.

Usage notes

  • Used only in loanwords. In more established loanwords replaced with ks.

See also

French

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /iks/

Adjective

X m, f ‎(invariable)

  1. X-rated

Noun

X m, f ‎(plural X)

  1. X (letter of the Latin alphabet)
  2. X-frame stool
    • 1862, Victor Hugo, Les Misérables, I.3.i:
      La duchesse de Duras lisait à trois ou quatre amis, dans son boudoir meublé d’X en satin bleu ciel [...].‎
      The Duchess de Duras was reading to two or three friends, in a boudoir furnished with X-frame stools in sky-blue satin.

German

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ʔɪks/

Letter

X ‎(upper case, lower case x)

  1. The twenty-fourth letter of the German alphabet.

Ido

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ks/

Letter

X ‎(lower case x)

  1. The twenty-fourth letter of the Ido alphabet, written in the Latin script.

See also

Italian

Pronunciation

  • (name of letter) IPA(key): /iks/
  • (phonetic realization) IPA(key): [ks]

Letter

X m, f ‎(invariable, lower case x)

  1. The twenty-fourth letter of the Latin alphabet, called ics in Italian.

Usage notes

  • The letter X is not considered part of the Italian alphabet. It is found mainly in loanwords, Latinisms, and Grecisms.

See also

Malay

Pronunciation

  • (Name of letter) IPA(key): [ɛk̚s]
  • (Phoneme, Syllable initial) IPA(key): [z]
  • (Phoneme, Syllable final) IPA(key): [k̚s]

Letter

X

  1. The twenty-fourth letter of the Malay alphabet, written in the Latin script.

See also

Portuguese

Pronunciation

Letter

X ‎(upper case, lower case x)

  1. The twenty-fourth letter of the Portuguese alphabet, written in the Latin script.

See also

See also

Romanian

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /iks/

Letter

X (capital, lowercase x)

  1. The twenty-fifth letter of the Romanian alphabet representing the double-consonant sounds /gz/ and /ks/. Preceded by V and followed by Z.

Saanich

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /x̠/

Letter

X

  1. The thirty-fifth letter of the Saanich alphabet, written in the Latin script.

See also

Somali

Pronunciation

  • (phoneme): IPA(key): /ħ/
  • (letter name): IPA(key): /ħɑ/

Letter

X upper case (lower case x)

  1. The fifth letter of the Somali alphabet, called xa and written in the Latin script.

Usage notes

  1. The fifth letter of the Somali alphabet, which follows Arabic abjad order. It is preceded by J and followed by KH.

See also

Spanish

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ekis/

Letter

X ‎(upper case, lower case x)

  1. The 25th letter of the Spanish alphabet.

Vietnamese

Pronunciation

  • (Hà Nội) IPA(key): [ʔïʔk̟̚˧ˀ˦/, /ʔïʔk̟̚˧ˀ˦ s̪i˨˩/, /s̪əːɰ˨˩/, /s̪əːɰ˨˩ ɲɛ˧ˀ˨ʔ]
  • (Huế) IPA(key): [ʔɨ̞̠ʔt̚˦˥/, /ʔɨ̞̠ʔt̚˦˥ s̪ɪj˧˧/, /s̪əːɰ˧˧/, /s̪əːɰ˧˧ ɲɛ˨ˀ˨ʔ]
  • (Hồ Chí Minh City) IPA(key): [ʔɨ̞̠ʔt̚˦ˀ˥/, /ʔɨ̞̠ʔt̚˦ˀ˥ s̪ɪj˨˩/, /s̪əːɰ˨˩/, /s̪əːɰ˨˩ ɲ̻ɛ˨ˀ˧ʔ]
  • Phonetic: ích, ích xì, xờ, xờ nhẹ

Letter

X ‎(upper case, lower case x)

  1. The twenty-eighth letter of the Vietnamese alphabet, called ích, ích xì, xờ or xờ nhẹ and written in the Latin script.

See also

x

x


x U+0078, x
LATIN SMALL LETTER X
← w
[U+0077] 		Basic Latin y →
[U+0079]
See also: Appendix:Variations of "x"

Translingual

Letter

x lower case (upper case X)

  1. The twenty-fourth letter of the basic modern Latin alphabet.

See also

Pronunciation

Symbol

x

  1. (IPA) voiceless velar fricative.
  2. (mathematics) An unknown variable.
  3. (mathematics) The first coordinate in Cartesian coordinates, representing horizontal position.
  4. Used as a placeholder for a digit or value that may vary.
    • 2008, Leonard Richardson, ‎Sam Ruby, RESTful Web Services (page 387)
      The 5xx [i.e. three digits starting "5"] series of status codes is for representing problems on the server side.
    • 2009, Ravi Rikhye, Concise World Armies 2009
      BRIGADE NUMBERING - TRADITIONAL • Armor Brigade [5xx series] • Armored Infantry Brigade [3xx series] • Motorized Infantry Brigade [2xx series] • Infantry Brigade [1xx series] • Special Forces [8xx series]
    • 2010, Tri "Slowhabit" Nguyen, ‎Martin Harris, Advanced PLO Play (page 53)
      Although my opponent will have 4xxx [i.e. a 4 and three other cards] frequently, I have to stack off occasionally to avoid being exploited in this spot.
  5. A kiss at the end of a letter, or similar missive.
    • 2009 September 8, tammy martinez, “God bless u!”, in cir-b-ksa, Usenet, retrieved 2014-10-26:
      Que DIOS te bendiga, xoxo
    • 2010 September 4, pap...@yahoo.com, “Re: Sortido”, in Medicina UFRJ Turma 1970, Usenet, retrieved 2014-10-26:
      Pratinha te amo, te amo...XOXO luizbola
    • 2012, Amanda Jennings, Sworn Secret
      i love you :)! xxx. She pressed send and stared at him. She giggled when he reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone.
    • 2012, Maya Rodale, Geheimes Spiel der Liebe, dedication:
      XOXO, dein Schreibmädchen, deine Frau
    • 2013, Arthur and Carly Fleischmann, La voz de Carly :
      Nos vemos en unos días. Te quiero. Xoxo.
    • (Can we date this quote?) Mon évolution par l'Amour, page 134:
      Je t'aime ! Kristel xxxx....
  6. (computing) A unit of transfer rate of CD drives, equal to 150 KiB per second.
  7. (computing) A unit of transfer rate of DVD drives, equal 1.32 MiB per second.
  8. Alternative spelling of ×
    Dimensions: 1280x720

See also

Other representations of X:

English

Letter

x ‎(lower case, upper case X, plural x's)

  1. The twenty-fourth letter of the English alphabet, called ex and written in the Latin script.

Adjective

x

  1. Alternative letter-case form of X ‎(“intersex or non-binary, in passports and identification documents”)

Conjunction

x

  1. (fandom slang) Used between the names of two characters to denote a ship, particularly in anime, manga, and video games.
    • 1998 August 31, Greg Upchurch, “[Eva][Fanfic] Aright”, in rec.arts.anime.creative, Usenet:
      If there is anyone in the audience who can't stand someone pushing a Shinji x Rei thing, I know you want to quit on this fic now.
    • 2002 July 7, Arnold Kim, “Re: Favorite couples??”, in alt.tv.buffy-v-slayer, Usenet:
      I'm a fairly big Angel x Buffy fan, though I'm not a particularly big fan of Angel. They just work well together, IMO.
    • 2003 April 29, sephigirl, “Re: [OT] Character selections was: Re: [POLL] Identification”, in alt.fan.utena, Usenet:
      Tho' my doujinshi is a Cloud x Sephiroth - yes you read that right - Cloud's name is first. ^^!
    • For more examples of usage of this term, see Citations:x.

See also

Azeri

Letter

x lower case (upper case X)

  1. The twelfth letter of the Azeri alphabet, written in the Latin script.

See also

Dutch

Pronunciation

  • Rhymes: -ɪks
  • (letter name): IPA(key): /ɪks/

Letter

x ‎(lower case, upper case X)

  1. The twenty-fourth letter of the Dutch alphabet.

See also

  • Previous letter: w
  • Next letter: y

French

Letter

x ‎(lower case, upper case X)

  1. The twenty-fifth letter of the French alphabet, written in the Latin script.
    • 1837, Louis Viardot, L’Ingénieux Hidalgo Don Quichotte de la Manchefr.Wikisource, translation of El ingenioso hidalgo Don Quijote de la Mancha by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, Chapter I:
      Avec ces propos et d’autres semblables, le pauvre gentilhomme perdait le jugement. Il passait les nuits et se donnait la torture pour les comprendre, pour les approfondir, pour leur tirer le sens des entrailles, ce qu’Aristote lui-même n’aurait pu faire, s’il fût ressuscité tout exprès pour cela.
      With these passages and other similar ones, the poor gentleman lost his judgement. He spent his nights and tortured himself to understand them, to consider them more deeply, to take from them their deepest meaning, which Aristotle himself would not have been able to do, had he been resurrected for that very purpose.

Ido

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ks/

Letter

x ‎(upper case X)

  1. The twenty-fourth letter of the Ido alphabet, written in the Latin script.

See also

Italian

Noun

x m, f ‎(invariable)

  1. x; the 24th letter of the Latin alphabet

Preposition

x

  1. (text messaging, slang) abbreviation of per (“for”)

Origin: The multiplication sign “×” (which is visually similar to the letter “x”) is pronounced “per” in Italian. This convention is not only used for the preposition but also used within words, e.g. “xké” (“perché”), ”“xò” (“però”).

Malay

Letter

x ‎(lower case, upper case X)

  1. The twenty-fourth letter of the Malay alphabet, written in the Latin script.

See also

Norwegian

Pronunciation

  • (letter name): IPA(key): /eks/, /ɛks/
  • (phoneme): IPA(key): /ks/, /s/

Letter

x

  1. The 24th letter of the Norwegian alphabet.

Usage notes

  • Only appears in loanwords from e.g. Latin.

Portuguese

Pronunciation

Letter

x ‎(lower case, upper case X)

  1. The twenty-fourth letter of the Portuguese alphabet, written in the Latin script.

See also

Romanian

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /iks/

Letter

x (lowercase, capital X)

  1. The twenty-seventh letter of the Romanian alphabet representing the double-consonant sounds /gz/ and /ks/. Preceded by v and followed by z.

Spanish

Pronunciation

  • (phoneme) IPA(key): /ks/, /s/, /x/
  • (letter name) IPA(key): /'ekis/

Letter

x ‎(lower case, upper case X)

  1. The 25th letter of the Spanish alphabet.

Abbreviation

x

  1. (text messaging, Internet) Abbreviation of "por"

Etymology

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ɛks/
  • Rhymes: -ɛks

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