X, orx, is the twenty-fourthletter of theLatin alphabet, used in themodern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English isex (pronounced/ˈɛks/ⓘ), pluralexes.[2]
The letter⟨X⟩, representing/ks/, was inherited from theEtruscan alphabet. It perhaps originated in the⟨Χ⟩ of theEuboean alphabet or another Western Greek alphabet, which also represented/ks/. Its relationship with the⟨Χ⟩ of the Eastern Greek alphabets, which represented/kʰ/, is uncertain.
In Old Spanish,⟨x⟩ came to represent/ʃ/, which it still represents in mostIberian languages and in the orthographies of other languages influenced by Spanish, such asNahuatl. In French (with a few exceptions), Italian, Romanian, and modern Spanish,⟨x⟩ was replaced by other letters.
The use of⟨x⟩ to represent/ks/ was reintroduced to the Romance languages via Latinloanwords. In many words, the/ks/ wasvoiced as/gz/.[8]
In the beginning of a word, mainly used inloanwords for science
/ks/
In the middle or the end of a word, although words borrowed with the letter x in the middle or the end of a word are always replaced by the letters 'ks'. For example, the word 'maximum' and 'climax' in Indonesian would be 'maksimal' and 'klimaks'. Letter x on the middle or the end of a word only occurs in names. Mainly used in loanwords for science.
InEnglish orthography,⟨x⟩ is typically pronounced as the voicelessconsonant cluster/ks/ when it follows the stressed vowel (e.g.ox), and the voiced consonant/ɡz/ when it precedes the stressed vowel (e.g.exam). It is also pronounced/ɡz/ when it precedes a silent⟨h⟩ and a stressed vowel (e.g.exhaust).[9] Due toyod-coalescence, the sequence⟨xi⟩ before a vowel can be pronounced/kʃ/ resulting from earlier/ksj/, e.g. in-xion(-),-xious(-). Similarly, the sequence⟨xu⟩ can be pronounced with/kʃ/ (e.g.flexure,sexual) or/ɡʒ/ (inluxury and its derivatives). Due toNG-coalescence, the sequence⟨nx⟩ can be pronounced/ŋz/ inanxiety.
When⟨x⟩ ends a word, it is always/ks/ (e.g.fax), except in loan words such asfaux. When⟨x⟩ does start a word, it is usually pronounced 'z' (e.g.xylophone,xanthan). When starting in some names or as its own representation, it is pronounced 'eks', in rare recent loanwords or foreign proper names, it can also be pronounced/s/ (e.g. the obsolete Vietnamese monetary unitxu) or/ʃ/ (e.g. Chinese names starting withXi, likeXiaomi orXinjiang). Many of the words that start with⟨x⟩ are ofGreek origin, standardized trademarks (Xerox), or acronyms (XC).
In abbreviations, it can represent "trans-" (e.g.XMIT for transmit,XFER for transfer), "cross-" (e.g.X-ing for crossing,XREF forcross-reference), "Christ-" (e.g.Xmas forChristmas,Xian forChristian), the "crys-" in crystal (XTAL), "by" (SXSW forSouth by Southwest), or various words starting with "ex-" (e.g.XL for extra large,XOR forexclusive-or, or theextinction symbol).
X is thethird least frequently used letter in English (after⟨q⟩ and⟨z⟩), with a frequency of about 0.15% in words.[10] There are very few English words that start with⟨x⟩ (the fewest of any letter).
Romance languages
In Latin,⟨x⟩ stood for/ks/. In theRomance languages, as a result of assorted phonetic changes,⟨x⟩ has other pronunciations:
InCatalan,⟨x⟩ has three pronunciations; the most common is/ʃ/; as inxarop ('syrup'). Others are:/ks/;fixar ('to fix'),/ɡz/;examen. In addition,/ʃ/ gets voiced to[ʒ] before voiced consonants;caixmir. Catalan also has the digraph⟨tx⟩, pronounced/tʃ/.
InGalician andLeonese,⟨x⟩ is pronounced/ʃ/ in most cases (often used in place of etymologicalg orj). The pronunciation/ks/ occurs in learned words, such as 'taxativo' (taxing). However, Galician speakers tend to pronounce it/s/, especially when it appears before plosives, such as inexterno ('external').
InFrench,⟨x⟩ usually represents/ks/ or (primarily in words beginning with ex- followed by a vowel)/ɡz/. It is pronounced/s/ in some city names such asBruxelles (although some people pronounce it 'ks') orAuxerre; it is nevertheless pronounced/ks/ inAix, the name of several towns. At the ends of other words, it is silent (or/z/ inliaison if the next word starts with a vowel). Two exceptions are pronounced/s/:six ('six') anddix ('ten'). It is pronounced/z/ insixième anddixième.
InItalian,⟨x⟩ is either pronounced/ks/, as inextra,uxorio,xilofono,[11] or/ɡz/, as inexogamia, when it is preceded by⟨e⟩ and followed by a vowel. In several related languages, notablyVenetian, it represents the voicedsibilant/z/. It is also used, mainly amongst young people, as a short written form for "per" (meaning "for"); for example, "x sempre" ("forever"). This is because in Italian, themultiplication sign is called "per". However,⟨x⟩ is found only inloanwords, as it is not part of the standardItalian alphabet; in most words with⟨x⟩, this letter may be replaced with 's' or 'ss' (with different pronunciation:xilofono/silofono,taxi/tassì) or, rarely, by 'cs' (with the same pronunciation:claxon/clacson).
InPortuguese,⟨x⟩ has four main pronunciations; the most common is/ʃ/, as inxícara ('cup'). The other sounds are:/ks/ as inflexão ('flexion');/s/, when preceded by E and followed by a consonant, as incontexto (/ʃ/ in European Portuguese), and in a small number of other words, such aspróximo (close/next); and (the rarest)/z/, which occurs in the prefix "ex-" before a vowel, as inexagerado ('exaggerated'). A rare fifth sound is/ɡz/, coexisting with/z/ and/ks/ as acceptable pronunciations inexantema and in words with the Greek prefix 'hexa-'.
InOld Spanish,⟨x⟩ was pronounced/ʃ/, as it is still currently in otherIberian Romance languages. Later, the sound evolved to a/x/ sound. In modernSpanish, due to a spelling reform, whenever⟨x⟩ is used for the/x/ sound it has been replaced with⟨j⟩, including in words that originally had⟨x⟩ such asejemplo orejercicio, though⟨x⟩ is still retained for some names (notably "México", even though "Méjico" may sometimes be used in Spain). Presently,⟨x⟩ represents the sound/s/ (word-initially), or the consonant cluster/ks/ (e.g.oxígeno,examen). Rarely, it can be pronounced/ʃ/ as in Old Spanish in some proper nouns such asRaxel (a variant ofRachel) andUxmal.
InVenetian,⟨x⟩ represents the voiced alveolar sibilant/z/, much like in Portuguese 'exagerado', English 'xylophone' or in the French 'sixième'. Examples from medieval texts includeraxon ('reason'),prexon ('prison'),dexerto ('desert'), andchaxa orcaxa ('home'). Nowadays, the best-known word isxe (is/are). The most notable exception to this rule is the nameVenexia,/veˈnɛsja/, in which⟨x⟩ has evolved from the initial voiced sibilant/z/ to the present-day voiceless sibilant/s/.
Other languages
In languages which adopted theLatin alphabet later,⟨x⟩ is used for various sounds, in some cases inspired by Latin or its descendants, but in others for unrelated consonants. Since the various Romance pronunciations of⟨x⟩ can often be written in other ways, the letter becomes available for other sounds.
InDutch,⟨x⟩ usually represents/ks/, except in the name of the island ofTexel, which is pronouncedTessel. This is because ofhistorical sound-changes in Dutch, where all/ks/ sounds have been replaced by/s/ sounds. Words with an⟨x⟩ in the Dutch language are nowadays usuallyloanwords. In theDutch-speaking part of Belgium,family names with⟨x⟩ are not uncommon (e.g.Dierckxa andHendrickx).
InEsperanto, thex-convention replaces⟨ĉ⟩,⟨ĝ⟩,⟨ĥ⟩,⟨ĵ⟩,⟨ŝ⟩, and⟨ŭ⟩ with x-suffixes:⟨cx⟩,⟨gx⟩,⟨hx⟩,⟨jx⟩,⟨sx⟩, and⟨ux⟩.
InGerman, generally pronounced/ks/; in native words, however, such asOchs orwachsen, the cluster/ks/ is often written⟨chs⟩.
In transliterations ofIndian languages, primarily Indo-Aryan languages,⟨x⟩ represents the consonant cluster[kʃ] in alternate spellings of words containing 'क्ष' (kṣ), especially names such asLaxmi andDixit. Less frequently,⟨x⟩ is used to represent 'ख़'/x/.
InLao, based onromanization of Lao consonants,⟨x⟩ represents/s/, while appears to be homophonous with⟨s⟩, it is a "low consonant" and affects the tone of the following vowel, e.g. inLan Xang.
InMaltese,⟨x⟩ is pronounced/ʃ/ or, in some cases,/ʒ/ (only in loanwords such as 'televixin', and not for all speakers).
InNorwegian,⟨x⟩ is generally pronounced/ks/, but since the 19th century, there has been a tendency to spell it out as⟨ks⟩; it may still be retained in personal names, though it is fairly rare, and occurs mostly in foreign words andSMS language. Usage inDanish andFinnish is similar (whileSwedish, on the other hand, makes frequent use of⟨x⟩ in native words as well as in loanwords).
InPolish,⟨x⟩ was used prior to 19th century both in loanwords and native words and was pronounced/ks/ or/ɡz/, e.g.xiążę,xięstwo (nowksiążę,księstwo). This was later replaced by⟨ks⟩ and⟨gz⟩ in almost all words and remained only in a few loanwords as 'xenia' (xenien), surnames asAxentowicz,Rexemowski, andXiężopolski, names asXawery, andXymena, and abbreviations.
InVietnamese,⟨x⟩ represents/s/. This sound was[ɕ] in Middle Vietnamese, resembling the Portuguese/ʃ/, spelled⟨x⟩.
An illustrative example of⟨x⟩ as a "leftover" letter is the differing usage in three differentCushitic languages:
It is also sometimes used as atypographic approximation for themultiplication sign,×. In mathematical typesetting,x meaning an algebraic variable is normally initalic type (), partly to avoid confusion with the multiplication symbol. In fonts containing bothx (the letter) and × (the multiplication sign), the two glyphs are dissimilar.
It can be used as an abbreviation for 'between' in the context of historical dating; e.g. "1483 x 1485".
Maps and other images sometimes use an X to label a specific location, leading to the expression "X marks the spot".[17]
In art or fashion, the use of X indicates a collaboration by two or more artists, e.g. Aaron Koblin x Takashi Kawashima. This application, which originated in Japan, now extends to other kinds of collaboration outside the art world.[18] This usage mimics the use of a similar mark indenoting botanical hybrids, for which scientifically themultiplication × is used, but informally, a lowercase "x" is also used.
At the end of a letter or other correspondence, 'x' can mean a kiss;[19] the earliest example of this usage cited by theOxford English Dictionary is from 1878.[20]
AnX rating denotes media, such as movies, that are intended for adults only.
^ab"X",Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd edition (1989);Merriam-Webster's Third New International Dictionary of the English Language, Unabridged (1993); "ex",op. cit.
^Baglioni, Daniele (2014). "Il nessoGN dal latino alle lingue romanze: Questioni aperte e prospettive di ricerca". In Molinelli, Piera; Cuzzolin, Pierluigi; Fedriani, Chiara (eds.).Actes du Xᵉ colloque international sur le latin vulgaire et tardif. Bergamo University Press. p. 10.
^"Dizionario di ortografia e pronunzia" [Dictionary of Spelling and Pronunciation].Dizionario di ortografia e pronunzia (in Italian).Archived from the original on 16 April 2018. Retrieved9 February 2014.
^King, David A. (2001).The Ciphers of the Monks. Franz Steiner Verlag. p. 282.ISBN9783515076401.Archived from the original on 4 January 2021. Retrieved22 November 2020.In the course of time,I,V andX became identical with three letters of the alphabet; originally, however, they bore no relation to these letters.
^"X, n."OED Online (Oxford: Oxford University Press, September 2022), §6. Accessed 11 November 2022.
^"'찐따', 'X랄하다'...욕도 전통을 가진다?" ['loser', 'fXing'... swear words also have a tradition?].www.goeonair.com (in Korean). Archived fromthe original on 18 January 2024. Retrieved22 August 2023.
