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pyx

or pix

[piks]
noun
  1. Ecclesiastical.
    1. the box or vessel in which the reserved Eucharist or Host is kept.
    2. a watch-shaped container for carrying the Eucharist to the sick.
  2. 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.
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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. 2018

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.

  • The leather cover for the pyx should not be taken into a smallpox room.

  • If there are any crumbs left in the pyx make the patient take them.

British Dictionary definitions for pyx

pyx

less commonly pix

noun
  1. Also called: pyx chest the chest in which coins from the British mint are placed to be tested for weight, etc
  2. Christianity any receptacle in which the Eucharistic Host is kept
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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

n.

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.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper