Chi
/kiː/noun
The twenty-second letter of the Greek alphabet, used in English for the sound /k/ or /x/ in some transliterations.
Did you know?In early Christian manuscripts, chi became one half of the Chi-Rho monogram, a symbol used to represent Christ and turn a letter into a sacred sign.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*ḱey-
“to mark, scratch, or make a sign”
Ancient Greek
Greek
χῖ
“the name of the letter chi”
Classical Greek
Greek
χ
“the letter used for a voiceless velar or aspirated sound”
Late Latin
Latin
chi
“the Greek letter chi, borrowed into scholarly and ecclesiastical use”
Modern English
English
chi
“the Greek letter chi; in transliteration, a representation of Greek χ”