Pix
/pɪks/noun
A small box or container, especially one used to hold consecrated Eucharistic wafers; also a historical term for a coin assay or test.
Did you know?In medieval England, the “Trial of the Pix” tested the purity and weight of newly minted coins, turning “pix” into a word linked to both sacrament and royal money.
Etymological Timeline
Ancient Greek
Greek
πυξίς (pyxís)
“A box, especially one made from boxwood”
Classical Latin
Latin
pyxis
“A small box or container, also used for sacred objects”
Old English
Old English
pix
“A box or reliquary, borrowed from Latin”
Middle English
English
pix
“A container for the consecrated Eucharist; also a box used in testing coins”
14th–16th Century
English
pix
“The official testing or assay of a sample of newly minted coins”
Modern English
English
pix
“A historical ecclesiastical container or coin-testing term; also used informally as a plural of “pic””