X

X U+0058, X LATIN CAPITAL LETTER X ← W Basic Latin Y →

Translingual

English Wikipedia has an article on:

X

Wikipedia

Alternative forms

• x (numeral)
• X. (numeral, ordinal)

Etymology 1

From the Etruscan letter 𐌗 (x, “ex”), from the Ancient Greek letter Χ (Kh, “chi”), created ex nihilo.

Letter

X (lower case x)

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

See also

• (Latin script):  Aa  Bb  Cc  Dd  Ee  Ff  Gg  Hh  Ii  Jj  Kk  Ll  Mm  Nn  Oo  Pp  Qq  Rr  Sſs  Tt  Uu  Vv  Ww  Xx  Yy  Zz
• (Variations of letter X):  Ẍẍ  Ẋẋ  ᶍ  Ｘｘ

Numeral

X

1. Roman numeral ten (10)
2. (especially in the names of aristocracy) the tenth.

Alternative forms

• x, VV, vv

Symbol

X

1. (bowling) strike

   Coordinate term: / (spare)

2. (sports) fail

   Coordinate terms: O (success), - (skip)

3. One of the tristimulus values which, with Y and Z, defines coordinates in a three-dimensional color space. Pronounced (in English) big X or cap X.
   • 2003, Charles A. Poynton, Digital Video and HDTV: Algorithms and Interfaces (in English), →ISBN, page 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.

4. A placeholder for any letter or word.
5. (linguistics) A wildcard for any sound (consonant, vowel or tone).
6. (international standards) Substituted for the third letter of a currency code to denote the minor unit of that currency.

Etymology 2

Possibly from skull and crossbones.

Symbol

X

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

Derived terms

• XXX

Gallery

• Letter styles
• 

  Uppercase and lowercase versions of X, in normal and italic type

• 

  Uppercase and lowercase X in Fraktur

See also

Other representations of X:

English

Pronunciation

• (letter name) IPA^(key): /ɛks/
• (phonetic realization) IPA^(key): , , (word-initially)

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɛks
• Homophone: Exe

Etymology 1

Introduced by René Descartes in the context of mathematical notation, but has since widened to other contexts.

Numeral

X

2. An unknown quantity or unknown value.

   Let x represent the forecast traffic flow in 20 years’ time.

   the X factor

   Planet X

Derived terms

• Generation X

Translations

Proper noun

X

1. A placeholder for an unknown, suppressed or hypothetical name.

   The woman known until now as Witness X has been unmasked after a court ruling.

   Suppose that Mr and Mrs X have been married for many years.

2. (anthroponymy, politics) A surname, used by those who have had their identity or heritage, including their proper ancestral names, erased or forgotten.

   Malcolm X

Etymology 2

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

• (Latin-script letters) letter; A a, B b, C c, D d, E e, F f, G g, H h, I i, J j, K k, L l, M m, N n, O o, P p, Q q, R r, S s, T t, U u, V v, W w, X x, Y y, Z z

Noun

X

2. Any mark that looks like that letter, such as a mark made by a person who cannot read or write in lieu of a signature.
3. (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).

   Coordinate terms: M, F

Etymology 3

Presumably by abbreviation of the pronunciation of ecstasy.

Noun

X (uncountable)

1. (slang) Ecstasy, a particular street drug.
   • 2003 January 7, “In da Club” (track 5), in Get Rich or Die Tryin', performed by 50 Cent:

     You can find me in the club, bottle full of bub'. Look, mami, I got the X if you into takin' drugs.

   • 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.

   • 2018 June 8, “Love Druggie”‎performed by Mendoza:

     I'm a love druggie falling for these drug junkies. Come n call on me besides these X parties. It's fucking hard on my body.

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, numbers 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.

Derived terms

Translations

Etymology 5

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

Proper noun

X

1. (informal) Christ

Derived terms

Translations

Etymology 6

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

Noun

X (plural Xes)

1. (Canada, US) Cross, crossing.

Derived terms

• xing

Translations

Etymology 7

Adjective

X (comparative more X, superlative most X)

1. (informal) Abbreviation of extreme.

Derived terms

Afar

Letter

X

1. The eighth letter of the Afar alphabet, written in the Latin script.

See also

• (Latin-script letters) A a, B b, T t, S s, E e, C c, K k, X x, I i, D d, Q q, R r, F f, G g, O o, L l, M m, N n, U u, W w, H h, Y y

Afrikaans

Pronunciation

• (letter name): IPA^(key): /ɛks/

Letter

X (upper case, lower case x)

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

See also

• (Latin-script letters) letter; Aa, Bb, Cc, Dd, Ee, Ff, Gg, Hh, Ii, Jj, Kk, Ll, Mm, Nn, Oo, Pp, Qq, Rr, Ss, Tt, Uu, Vv, Ww, Xx, Yy, Zz

Noun

X (plural X'e, diminutive X'ie)

1. X

Albanian

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /d͡z/

Letter

X (upper case X, lower case x)

1. The thirty-second letter of the Albanian alphabet, written in the Latin script.

See also

• (Latin-script letters) shkronjë; A a, B b, C c, Ç ç, D d, Dh dh, E e, Ë ë, F f, G g, Gj gj, H h, I i, J j, K k, L l, Ll ll, M m, N n, Nj nj, O o, P p, Q q, R r, Rr rr, S s, Sh sh, T t, Th th, U u, V v, X x, Xh xh, Y y, Z z, Zh zh
• (Arvanitic) (Greek script letters) Α α, Β β, Ƃ ƅ, Γ γ, Γj γj, Δ δ, D d, Ε ε, Ε̱ ε̱, Ζ ζ, Ζ̇ ζ̇, Θ θ, Ι ι, J j, Κ κ, Κ̇ κ̇, Λ λ, ΛΛ λλ, Λ̇ λ̇, Μ μ, Ν ν, Ν̇ ν̇, Ο ο, Π π, Ρ ρ, Ρ̇ ρ̇, Σ σ, Σ̈ σ̈, Τ τ, Ȣ ȣ, Υ υ, Φ φ, Χ χ, Χ̇ χ̇, ΤΣ τσ, ΤΣ̈ τσ̈, DΣ dσ, DΣ̈ dσ̈

Azerbaijani

Letter

X upper case (lower case x)

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

See also

• (Latin-script letters) hərf; A a, B b, C c, Ç ç, D d, E e, Ə ə, F f, G g, Ğ ğ, H h, X x, I ı, İ i, J j, K k, Q q, L l, M m, N n, O o, Ö ö, P p, R r, S s, Ş ş, T t, U u, Ü ü, V v, Y y, Z z

Basque

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /iʃa/,

Letter

X (upper case, lower case x)

1. The twenty-fifth letter of the Basque alphabet, called ixa and written in the Latin script.

See also

• (Latin-script letters) A a, B b, C c (Ç ç), D d, E e, F f, G g, H h, I i, J j, K k, L l, M m, N n, Ñ ñ, O o, P p, Q q, R r, S s, T t, U u (Ü ü), V v, W w, X x, Y y, Z z

Central Franconian

Pronunciation

• /ks/

Letter

X

1. A letter in the German-based alphabet of Central Franconian.
2. A letter in the Dutch-based alphabet of Central Franconian.

Usage notes

• In the German-based spelling, x is the default spelling for /ks/, but not the most frequent spelling. Following the German cognate or otherwise when there is an intervening morpheme boundary, the spellings chs, cks, ks (possibly also ggs) may be used instead.
• In the Dutch-based spelling, /ks/ is usually represented by ks. The letter x occurs only rarely in loanwords.
• X is never doubled and preceding vowels are short unless they are themselves doubled (as in English).

Chinese

Pronunciation 1

Letter

X

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

Pronunciation 2

Letter

X

1. The second letter used in Pinyin.

Comox

Pronunciation

1. IPA^(key): /x/

Letter

X (lower case x)

1. A letter of the Comox alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Dutch

Pronunciation

• (letter name) IPA^(key): /ɪks/

• Audio

  (file)

Letter

X (capital, lowercase x)

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

See also

• Previous letter: W
• Next letter: Y

Esperanto

Letter

X (upper case, lower case x)

1. (replacement) The letter that represents a diacritic in the x-system, written after the letter in its non-diacriticed form; it is called ikso.

   ambaŭ → ambaux

Finnish

Etymology

The Finnish orthography using the Latin script was based on Swedish, German and Latin, and was first used in the mid-16th century. No earlier script is known. See the Wikipedia article on Finnish for more information, and X for information on the development of the glyph itself.

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, it is replaced with ks.

See also

• (Latin-script letters) kirjain; A a, B b, C c, D d, E e, F f, G g, H h, I i, J j, K k, L l, M m, N n, O o, P p, Q q, R r, S s (Š š), T t, U u, V v (W w), X x, Y y, Z z (Ž ž), Å å, Ä ä, Ö ö

French

French Wikipedia has an article on:

X

Wikipedia ^fr

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /iks/

• Audio (Paris)

  (file)

Noun

X m or f (plural X)

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

Adjective

X (invariable)

1. X-rated

Derived terms

• film X

German

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ʔɪks/

• Audio

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɪks

Letter

X (upper case, lower case x)

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

Hungarian

Pronunciation

• (letter name) IPA^(key):
• (phonetic realization) IPA^(key):

Letter

X (upper case, lower case x)

1. A letter of the extended Hungarian alphabet, called iksz and written in the Latin script.

Declension

See also

• (Latin-script letters) betű; A a, Á á, B b, C c, Cs cs, D d, Dz dz, Dzs dzs, E e, É é, F f, G g, Gy gy, H h, I i, Í í, J j, K k, L l, Ly ly, M m, N n, Ny ny, O o, Ó ó, Ö ö, Ő ő, P p, R r, S s, Sz sz, T t, Ty ty, U u, Ú ú, Ü ü, Ű ű, V v, Z z, Zs zs. Only in the extended alphabet: Q q W w X x Y y. Commonly used: ch. Also defined: à ë. In surnames (selection): ä aa cz ds eé eö ew oe oó th ts ÿ.

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

• (Latin-script letters) litero; A a, B b, C c, D d, E e, F f, G g, H h, I i, J j, K k, L l, M m, N n, O o, P p, Q q, R r, S s, T t, U u, V v, W w, X x, Y y, Z z

Italian

Italian Wikipedia has an article on:

X

Wikipedia ^it

Pronunciation

• (letter name) IPA^(key): /ˈiks/
  • Rhymes: -iks
• (phonemic realization) IPA^(key): /ks/

Letter

X f or m (invariable, upper case, 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

• (Latin-script letters) lettera; A a (À à), B b, C c, D d, E e (É é, È è), F f, G g, H h, I i (Í í, Ì ì, Πî, J j, K k), L l, M m, N n, O o (Ó ó, Ò ò), P p, Q q, R r, S s, T t, U u (Ú ú, Ù ù), V v (W w, X x, Y y), Z z
• Italian alphabet on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Korean

Etymology

From Japanese ×(ばつ).

Symbol

X

1. false.

Antonyms

• O

Derived terms

OX

Kwakʼwala

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /x/

Letter

X (lower case x)

1. A letter of the Kwak'wala alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Latin

Latin Wikipedia has an article on:

X

Wikipedia ^la

Etymology

Borrowed from Ancient Greek Χ (Kh, “chi”), which represented /ks/ in the dialects of most of the Greek mainland and Euboea.

Pronunciation

The sound of X was like that of the Greek Ξ (X, “xi”), that is /ks/, although etymologically it represented not only cs (as in lūx, from luc-s, and dīxī, from dic-si), but also gs (as in lēx, from leg-s; rēxī, from reg-si); hs (as in trāxī, from trah-si; vexī, from veh-si); and chs (as in the word onyx, from onych-s, borrowed from the Greek). The hardening of a softer final (g, h, ch) before s into the с sound, which occurs in the last-mentioned cases, is found also in several roots ending in v and u: nix for niv-s, vīxī for viv-si, connixī for conniv-si, fluxī for fluv-si, from fluō (root fluv-; compare fluvius), struxī for stru-si.

Less frequently x has arisen from the combinations ps and ts: proximus for prop-simus (from prope), nīxus for nit-sus (from nītor), the latter being used along with the collateral form nīsus, as also connīvī with connixī, and mistus (from misceō) with mixtus.

An exchange of the sounds ss or s and x, took place in axis for assis and laxus for lassus. In the later language of the vulgar, the guttural sound in x disappeared, and s or ss was often written for it; as vis for vix, visit for vīxit, unsit for unxit, conflississet for conflixisset, in late inscriptions; hence regularly in Italian, and frequently in the other Romance tongues, the Latin x is represented by s or ss.

By a mere graphic variation, one of the constituent sounds of x is often expressed in inscriptions (but not the earliest) by an additional с or s; as SACXO or SAXSO for saxō; VCXOR or VXSOR for uxor; CONIVNCX or CONIVNXS for conjunx; even both sounds are sometimes thus expressed, VICXSIT for vīxit.

Letter

X (upper case, lower case x)

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

Numeral

X

1. ten; decem.

See also

• Roman numeral letters: I, V, L, C, D, M.
• Unicode glyphs of Roman numerals: Ⅹ, ⅹ.
• Appendixes: Roman numerals, Latin cardinal numerals

References

• “X” in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short , A New Latin Dictionary.

Malay

Malay Wikipedia has an article on:

X

Wikipedia ^ms

Pronunciation

• (letter name) IPA^(key):
• (phonetic realization) IPA^(key): (onset) , (coda)

Letter

X

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

See also

• (Latin-script letters) A a, B b, C c, D d, E e, F f, G g, H h, I i, J j, K k, L l, M m, N n, O o, P p, Q q, R r, S s, T t, U u, V v, W w, X x, Y y, Z z

Norwegian

Letter

X (upper case X, lower case x)

1. the 24th letter of the Norwegian alphabet

Usage notes

Mostly used in loan words and foreign names. Also used in old inscriptions and texts instead of ks.

Portuguese

Pronunciation

(letter name)

(phonetic realization) IPA^(key): /s/, /z/, /ʃ/, /ks/, /ɡz/

Letter

X (upper case, lower case x)

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

See also

• (Latin-script letters) letra; A a (Á á, À à,  â, àã), B b, C c (Ç ç), D d, E e (É é, Ê ê), F f, G g, H h, I i (Í í), J j, K k, L l, M m, N n, O o (Ó ó, Ô ô, Õ õ), P p, Q q, R r, S s, T t, U u (Ú ú), V v, W w, X x, Y y, Z z
• xis

Romani

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /x/

Letter

X (upper case, lower case x)

1. (International Standard) The eleventh letter of the Romani alphabet, written in the Latin script.
2. (Pan-Vlax) The twelfth letter of the Romani alphabet, written in the Latin script.

See also

• (Latin-script letters) A a, B b, C c, D d, E e, F f, G g, H h, X x, I i, J j, K k, Kh kh, L l, M m, N n, O o, P p, Ph ph, R r, S s, T t, Th th, U u, V v, Z z International Standard: (À à, Ä ä, Ǎ ǎ), Ć ć, Ćh ćh, (È è, Ë ë, Ě ě), (Ì ì, Ï ï, Ǐ ǐ), (Ò ò, Ö ö, Ǒ ǒ), Rr rr, Ś ś, (Ù ù, Ü ü, Ǔ ǔ), Ź ź, Ʒ ʒ, Q q, Ç ç, ϴ θ. Pan-Vlax: Č č, Čh čh, Dž dž, (Dź dź), Ř ř, Š š, (Ś ś), Ž ž, (Ź ź).

References

• Yūsuke Sumi (2018), “X, x”, in ニューエクスプレス　ロマ（ジプシー）語 [New Express Romani (Gypsy)] (in Japanese), Tokyo: Hakusuisha, →ISBN, page 13

Romanian

Pronunciation

• (phonetic realization) IPA^(key): /ks/, /ɡz/

Letter

X (upper case, lower case x)

1. The twenty-ninth letter of the Romanian alphabet, called ics and written in the Latin script.

See also

• (Latin-script letters) A a, Ă ă,  â, B b, C c, D d, E e, F f, G g, H h, I i, Πî, J j, K k, L l, M m, N n, O o, P p, Q q, R r, S s, Ș ș, T t, Ț ț, U u, V v, W w, X x, Y y, Z z

Saanich

Pronunciation

• (phonetic realization) IPA^(key): /x̠/

Letter

X

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

See also

• (Latin-script letters) A, Á, Ⱥ, B, C, Ć, Ȼ, D, E, H, I, Í, J, K, Ꝁ, Ꝃ, ₭, Ḵ, Ḱ, L, Ƚ, M, N, Ṉ, O, P, Q, S, Ś, T, Ⱦ, Ṯ, Ŧ, U, W, W̱, X, X̱, Y, Z, s, ,

Somali

Pronunciation

• (letter name) IPA^(key): /ħɑ/
• (phonetic realization) IPA^(key): /ħ/

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

• (Latin-script letters) ʼ, B b, T t, J j, X x, Kh kh, D d, R r, S s, Sh sh, Dh dh, C c, G g, F f, Q q, K k, L l, M m, N n, W w, H h, Y y, A a, E e, I i, O o, U u

Spanish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈekis/
• Rhymes: -ekis

Letter

X (upper case, lower case x)

1. The twenty-fifth letter of the Spanish alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Derived terms

Tagalog

Etymology

From Spanish X. Each pronunciation has a different source:

• Filipino alphabet pronunciation is influenced by English X.
• Abecedario pronunciation is from Spanish X.

Pronunciation

• Hyphenation: X
• (letter name, Filipino alphabet): IPA^(key): /ʔeks/,
• (letter name, Abecedario): IPA^(key): /ˈʔekis/,
• (phoneme): IPA^(key): /ks/,
• (phoneme, some Spanish loanwords): IPA^(key): /h/,
• Rhymes: -eks, -ekis

Letter

X (upper case, lower case x, Baybayin spelling ᜁᜃ᜔ᜐ᜔)

1. The twenty-sixth letter of the Tagalog alphabet (Filipino alphabet), called eks and written in the Latin script.

Usage notes

• This letter is mostly used only in proper nouns, unadapted loanwords, or Spanish-based spellings.

Related terms

See also

• (Latin-script letters) titik; A a, B b, C c, D d, E e, F f, G g, H h, I i, J j, K k, L l, M m, N n, Ñ ñ, Ng ng, O o, P p, Q q, R r, S s, T t, U u, V v, W w, X x, Y y, Z z

Letter

X (upper case, lower case x, Baybayin spelling ᜁᜃᜒᜐ᜔)

1. (historical) The twenty-sixth letter of the Tagalog alphabet (Abecedario), called equis or ekis and written in the Latin script.

Further reading

• “X”, in Pambansang Diksiyonaryo | Diksiyonaryo.ph, Manila: Sentro ng Wikang Filipino, 2018

Vietnamese

Pronunciation

• (Hà Nội) IPA^(key): , , ,
• (Huế) IPA^(key): , , , ~ , , ,
• (Hồ Chí Minh City) IPA^(key): , , , ~ , , ,
• Phonetic: ít sì, ít 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

• (Quốc ngữ letters) chữ cái; A a (À à, Ả ả, àã, Á á, Ạ ạ), Ă ă (Ằ ằ, Ẳ ẳ, Ẵ ẵ, Ắ ắ, Ặ ặ),  â (Ầ ầ, Ẩ ẩ, Ẫ ẫ, Ấ ấ, Ậ ậ), B b, C c (Ch ch), D d, Đ đ, E e (È è, Ẻ ẻ, Ẽ ẽ, É é, Ẹ ẹ), Ê ê (Ề ề, Ể ể, Ễ ễ, Ế ế, Ệ ệ), G g (Gh gh, Gi gi), H h, I i (Ì ì, Ỉ ỉ, Ĩ ĩ, Í í, Ị ị), K k (Kh kh), L l, M m, N n (Ng ng, Ngh ngh, Nh nh), O o (Ò ò, Ỏ ỏ, Õ õ, Ó ó, Ọ ọ), Ô ô (Ồ ồ, Ổ ổ, Ỗ ỗ, Ố ố, Ộ ộ), Ơ ơ (Ờ ờ, Ở ở, Ỡ ỡ, Ớ ớ, Ợ ợ), P p (Ph ph), Q q (Qu qu), R r, S s, T t (Th th, Tr tr), U u (Ù ù, Ủ ủ, Ũ ũ, Ú ú, Ụ ụ), Ư ư (Ừ ừ, Ử ử, Ữ ữ, Ứ ứ, Ự ự), V v, X x, Y y (Ỳ ỳ, Ỷ ỷ, Ỹ ỹ, Ý ý, Ỵ ỵ)

Zulu

Letter

X (upper case, lower case x)

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

See also

• (Latin-script letters) A a, B b, C c, D d, E e, F f, G g, H h, I i, J j, K k, L l, M m, N n, O o, P p, Q q, R r, S s, T t, U u, V v, W w, X x, Y y, Z z