Antonyms for x's

Grammar : Noun

Spell : eks

Phonetic Transcription : ɛks

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Definition of x's

Origin :

• most English words beginning in -x- are of Greek origin or modern commercial coinages. East Anglian in 14c. showed a tendency to use -x- for initial sh-, sch- (cf. xal for shall), which didn't catch on but seems an improvement over the current system. As a symbol of a kiss on a letter, etc., it is recorded from 1765. In malt liquor, XX denoted "double quality" and XXX "strongest quality" (1827).
• Algebraic meaning "unknown quantity" (1660 in English), sometimes said to be from medieval use, originally a crossed -r-, probably from Latin radix (see root (n.)). Other theories trace it to Arabic, but a more prosaic explanation says Descartes (1637) took x, y, z, the last three letters of the alphabet, for unknowns to correspond to a, b, c, used for known quantities.
• Used allusively for "unknown person" from 1797, "something unknown" since 1859. As a type of chromosome, attested from 1902 (first so called in German; Henking, 1891). First used 1950 in Britain to designate "films deemed suitable for adults only;" adopted in U.S. Nov. 1, 1968.

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Synonyms for x's