pyxis

Etymology

From Latin pyxis (“small box”). Doublet of box, piseog, and pyx.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈpɪksɪs/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

Noun

pyxis (plural pyxides)

1. A small box.
2. (botany) A capsule in which the lid separates from the top of the fruit to release the seeds.

   Synonym: pyxidium

3. A nautical compass.
4. (Christianity) The box in which ashes are stored for Ash Wednesday.
5. (anatomy) acetabulum.

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin pyxis, from Ancient Greek πυξίς (puxís). Doublet of box, buks (“shotgun”), and bus (“container”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈpiksɪs/
• Hyphenation: py‧xis

Noun

pyxis f (plural pyxiden or pyxissen, diminutive pyxisje n)

1. various types of small box:
   1. (Roman Catholicism) a small box for storing consecrated hosts, e.g. in a tabernacle or for travel when tending to the sick
   2. (archaeology) a type of small box from Ancient Greece holding small, valuable items (such as jewellery, cosmetics or medicine)

Further reading

• pyxis on the Dutch Wikipedia.Wikipedia ^nl

Alternative forms

• puxis
• pixis (Medieval Latin)

Etymology

Borrowed from Ancient Greek πυξίς (puxís).

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): /ˈpyk.sis/, [ˈpʏks̠ɪs̠]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈpik.sis/, [ˈpiksis]

Noun

pyxis f (genitive pyxidis); third declension

1. A small box, for holding medicines or toiletries.

References

• “pyxis”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “pyxis”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• pyxis in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition with additions by D. P. Carpenterius, Adelungius and others, edited by Léopold Favre, 1883–1887)
• pyxis in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.
• “pyxis”, in The Perseus Project (1999) Perseus Encyclopedia‎
• “pyxis”, in Harry Thurston Peck, editor (1898), Harper's Dictionary of Classical Antiquities, New York: Harper & Brothers
• “pyxis”, in William Smith et al., editor (1890), A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities, London: William Wayte. G. E. Marindin