pyx

or pix

[piks]

noun

Ecclesiastical.

the box or vessel in which the reserved Eucharist or Host is kept.
a watch-shaped container for carrying the Eucharist to the sick.

Also called pyx chest. a box or chest at a mint, in which specimen coins are deposited and reserved for trial by weight and assay.

Origin of pyx

1350–1400; Middle English pyxe < Latin pyxis < Greek pyxís a box, orig. made of boxwood

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for pyx

Historical Examples of pyx

In the church of Orivellas, a pyx with a consecrated host was stolen.
A History of the Inquisition of Spain; vol. 3
Henry Charles Lea
He opened the pyx, took out a little curl of paper, and spread it on the desk.
The Last Miracle
M. P. Shiel
The pyx is the box in which the Host is kept or conveyed, often made of silver or ivory.
Curiosities of Christian History
Croake James
The leather cover for the pyx should not be taken into a smallpox room.
Essays In Pastoral Medicine
Austin Malley
If there are any crumbs left in the pyx make the patient take them.
Essays In Pastoral Medicine
Austin Malley

British Dictionary definitions for pyx

pyx

less commonly pix

noun

Also called: pyx chest the chest in which coins from the British mint are placed to be tested for weight, etc

Christianity any receptacle in which the Eucharistic Host is kept

Word Origin for pyx

C14: from Latin pyxis small box, from Greek, from puxos box tree

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for pyx

c.1400, "a box," especially the vessel in which the host or consecrated bread is preserved, from Latin pyxis, from Greek pyxis "box-wood; a box," from pyxos "box-wood; box-tree," of uncertain origin.