英语单词词源词典 X
X
most Eng. words beginning in -x- are of Gk. origin or modern commercial
coinages. E. Anglian in 14c. showed a tendency to use -x- for initial sh-, sch- (cf.
xal for shall), which didn't catch on but seems an improvement over the current system. As a symbol of a kiss on a letter, etc., it is recorded from 1765. In malt liquor, XX denoted "double quality" and XXX "strongest quality"
(1827). Algebraic meaning "unknown quantity" (1660 in Eng.), sometimes said to be from medieval use, originally a crossed -r-, probably from L. radix (see
root). Other theories trace it to Arabic, but a more prosaic explanation says Descartes (1637) took x, y, z, the last three letters of the alphabet, for unknowns to correspond to a, b, c, used for known quantities. Used allusively for "unknown person" from 1797, "something unknown" since 1859. As a type of chromosome, attested from 1902. First used 1950 in Britain to designate "films deemed suitable for adults only;" adopted in U.S. Nov. 1, 1968. X-ray
1896, translation of Ger. X-strahl, from X, algebraic symbol for an unknown
quantity, + Strahl (pl. Strahlen) "beam, ray." Coined 1895 by Ger. scientist Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen (1845-1923), who discovered them.
Xanadu
Mongol city founded by Kublai Khan, 1625, Anglicized form of Shang-tu. Sense
of "dream place of magnificence and luxury" derives from Coleridge's poem (1816).
Xanthippe
1596, spouse of Socrates (5c. B.C.E.), the prototype of the quarrelsome, nagging wife. The name is related to the masc. proper name Xanthippos, a
compound of xanthos "yellow" + hippos "horse."
xanthous
1829, from Gk. xanthos "yellow," of unknown origin. Prefix form xantho- is
used in many scientific words; cf. xanthein (1857) "soluble yellow coloring
matter in flowers," Huxley's Xanthochroi (1867) "blond, light-skinned races of
Europe" (with okhros "pale"), xanthophyll (1838) "yellow coloring matter in
autumn leaves."
xebec
"small three-masted vessel," 1756, from Fr. chébec, from It. sciabecco, ult. from
Ar. shabbak "a small warship." Altered by infl. of cognate Sp. xabeque, which
shows the old way of representing the Sp. sound now spelled -j-.
Xenia
city in Ohio, from Gk. xenia "hospitality," lit. "state of a guest," from xenos
"guest," of unknown origin, perhaps cognate with L. hostis "stranger, enemy."
Founded 1803 and named by vote of a town meeting, on suggestion of the Rev.
Robert Armstrong to suggest freindliness and hospitality. xenon
1898, from Gk. neut. of xenos "foreign, strange," coined by its discoverer,
Scottish chemist Sir William Ramsay (1852-1916); cf. krypton.
xenophobic
1912, coined from Gk. xenos "foreign, stranger" + phobos "fear" (see phobia).
xerasia
1706, "excessive dryness of hair," Medical L., from Gk. xerasia "dryness," from
xeros "dry."
Xeres
1661, name of Andalusian town (modern Jerez) famous for its wine (see
sherry). For first letter, see xebec.
Xerox
1952, trademark taken out by Haloid Co. of Rochester, N.Y., for a copying
device, from earlier xerography "photographic reduplication without liquid
developers" (1948), from Gk. xeros "dry" + -ography as in photography. The
verb is first attested 1965, from the noun, despite strenuous objection from the
Xerox copyright department.
Xerxes
king of Persia who reigned 486-465 B.C.E., Gk. Xerxes, from O.Pers.
Xšayaršan, lit. "male (i.e. 'hero') among kings," from Xšaya- "king" (cf. shah)
+ aršan "male, man." The Heb. rendition was Ahashwerosh, Ahashresh.
xiphias
1667, genus of swordfish, from Gk. xiphias "swordfish," from xiphos "sword,"
of unknown origin.
Xmas
"Christmas," 1551, X'temmas, wherein the X is an abbreviation for Christ in
Christmas, from first letter of Gk. Christos "Christ" (see Christ). The earlier
way to abbreviate it was Xp- or Xr-, corresponding to "Chr-," and the form
Xres mæsse for "Christmas" appears in the "Anglo-Saxon Chronicle" (c.1100).
xylem
"woody tissue in higher plants," 1875, from Ger. Xylem, coined from Gk. xylon
"wood," of unknown origin.
xylophone
1866, coined from Gk. xylon "wood" + phone "a sound" (see fame).
xyster
"surgical instrument for scraping bones," 1684, from Gk. xyster, from xyein "to
scrape," from PIE base *kes- "to scrape."