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X is the twenty-fourth letter of the Latin
alphabet. It is also the form of St Andrew's Cross.
/ks/ was in Ancient Greece written as Chi 'Χ' (Western Greek) or Xi 'Ξ' (Eastern Greek). In the end, Chi was
standardized as /k_h/ (/x/ in Modern Greek) as well as Xi for /ks/. But the Etruscans took over X from older Western Greek,
therefore, it stood for /ks/ in Etruscan and /ks/ and /gs/ [gz] in Latin. Only in Kurdish, Azeri, Uzbek and Tatar as well as the
IPA and SAMPA (the latter is used here) is X
pronounced [x] (as in German Bach). Some scholars claim that Latin X is not identical with Greek X.
It is also controversial whether Psi, Chi (Khi) and Xi are Greek inventions or whether they are ultimately of Semitic
origin.
X-ray represents the letter X in the NATO phonetic alphabet.
Meanings for X
- In a general sense, X represents the unknown or secret, as in project X and in the context of X rays, a form of electromagnetic
radiation. Planet X is a hypothetical additional planet farther from the sun. Members of the Nation of Islam change their surnames to "X" to symbolize that their African names were lost in slavery, an example is Malcolm X.
- In art X alludes to the infinite joy of creation.
- In beverages, X is a symbol for an alcoholic proof of 50; multiple Xes indicate multiples of 50.
- In cabalistic philosophy X references both birth
and death.
- In clothing X is used as an abbreviation for extra, such as XXL for extra-extra-large.
- In computing, X is the name of a free graphical windowing system developed at MIT and standard on Unix and Linux; see X Window System.
- In education, X is a nickname for the École polytechnique.
- In electrical engineering, X is the symbol for
reactance.
- In English,
- X is an abbreviation for Christ, as in Xmas (Christmas) and Xtian (Christian).
- X is an symbol for a kiss, as in love notes.
- X is an abbreviation for cross in words like Xing (crossing), or to sign with a cross (often for illiteracy).
- X is slang for Ecstacy, the drug MDMA.
- X also serves as other abbreviations, such as Xtal (Crystal), reXn (reaction) and
Xperimental (experimental).
- In film
- X is a rating given to films suitable for an adult-only audience; see X-rated.
NC-17 has replaced the X rating in the US. The UK replaced the X rating with the 18 certificate. Australia retains the X
rating.
- X is the name of a 1928 German film; see X (film)
- In financial securities, X is
the stock symbol for United States Steel Corporation.
- In games, X is represention for a cross in
games like tic tac toe
- In genetics X denotes the X
chromosome.
- In mathematics, x commonly represents an unknown variable.
Even though any letter can be used, x is the most common by far. This usage can be traced back to the Arabic
word ?ay 'thing' which was spelled with an initial x in Old Spanish or (according to other sources) an abbreviation of Latin
causa which was the translation of Arabic š.
- In military science, X is the US Navy hull classification
symbol for Submersible Craft.
- In popular music,
- In photography X denotes exact time in flash synchronization.
- In pornography XXX relates,
unsurprisingly, to sex.
- In U.S. politics, X is the pseudonym of
the person who blew the whistle on the Watergate crisis.
- In U.S. public policy, X is the
author (George F. Kennan) of the X article published in Foreign Affairs.
- In Roman numerals, X denotes ten.
- In semiotics, an X over something denotes elimination, prohibition or
erasure.
- In sociology X denotes Generation X.
- In treasure-hunting X is used to
designate the location of treasure, i.e. X marks the spot.
- X is the title of an anime based on the manga X/1999. See X (anime).
Two-letter combinations
starting with X:
- xa xb xc xd xe xf xg xh xi xj xk xl xm xn xo xp xq xr xs xt xu xv xw xx xy xz
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