X

For the multiplication sign, see ×. For other uses, please see X (disambiguation).
Writing cursive forms of X

X (named ex /ˈɛks/, plural exes[1]) is the 24th letter in the modern English alphabet and the ISO basic Latin alphabet.

History

Greek Chi Etruscan
 :X

In Ancient Greek, 'Χ' and 'Ψ' were among several variants of the same letter, used originally for /kʰ/ and later, in western areas such as Arcadia, as a simplification of the digraph 'ΧΣ' for /ks/. In the end, more conservative eastern forms became the standard of Classical Greek, and thus 'Χ' (Chi) stands for /kʰ/ (later /x/). However, the Etruscans had taken over 'Χ' from western Greek, and it therefore stands for /ks/ in Etruscan and Latin.

The letter 'Χ' ~ 'Ψ' for /kʰ/ was a Greek addition to the alphabet, placed after the Semitic letters along with phi 'Φ' for /pʰ/. (The variant 'Ψ' later replaced the digraph 'ΦΣ' for /ps/; omega was a later addition)..

Use in writing systems

English

In English orthography, x is typically pronounced as the voiceless consonant 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).[2] Before i or u, it can be pronounced /kʃ/ or /ɡʒ/ (e.g. sexual and luxury); these result from earlier /ksj/ and /ɡzj/. It also makes the sound /kʃ/ in words ending in -xion (typically used only in British-based spellings of the language; American spellings tend to use -ction). When x ends a word, it is always /ks/ (e.g. ax), except in loan words such as faux (see French, below).

There are very few English words that start with x (the least amount of any letter). When x does start a word, it is usually pronounced /z/ (e.g. xylophone, xenophobia, and xanthan); in rare recent loanwords or foreign proper names, it can also be pronounced /s/ (e.g. the obsolete Vietnamese monetary unit xu) or /ʃ/ (e.g. Chinese names starting with Xi like Xiaomi or Xinjiang). Many of the words that start with x are of Greek origin, or 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 for cross-reference), "Christ-" as shorthand for the labarum (e.g. Xmas for Christmas, Xian for Christian), the "crys-" in crystal (XTAL), or various words starting with "ex-" (e.g. XL for extra large, XOR for exclusive-or).

It is the third least common letter in English (after q and z), with a frequency of about 0.15% in words.[3]

Other languages

In Latin, x stood for [ks]. In some languages, as a result of assorted phonetic changes, handwriting adaptations or simply spelling convention, x has other pronunciations:

Additionally, in languages for which the Latin alphabet has been adapted only recently, x has been used for various sounds, in some cases inspired by European usage, but in others, for consonants uncommon in Europe. For these no Latin letter stands out as an obvious choice, and since most of the various European pronunciations of x can be written by other means, the letter becomes available for more unusual sounds.

Other systems

In the International Phonetic Alphabet, x represents a voiceless velar fricative.

Other uses

In mathematics, x is commonly used as the name for an independent variable or unknown value. The modern tradition of using x to represent an unknown was introduced by René Descartes in La Géométrie (1637).[5] As a result of its use in algebra, X is often used to represent unknowns in other circumstances (e.g. X-rays, Generation X, The X-Files, and The Man from Planet X; see also Malcolm X).

In the Cartesian coordinate system x is used to refer to the horizontal axis.

It may also be used to signify the multiplication operation when a more appropriate glyph is unavailable. In mathematical typesetting, x meaning an algebraic variable is normally in italic type (x\!), partly to avoid confusion with the multiplication symbol. In fonts containing both x (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 leading to hidden treasure often denote the treasure with an X. The expression "X marks the spot" is related to these treasure maps.

The Roman numeral Ⅹ represents the number 10.[6][7]

In art or fashion, the use of X indicates a collaboration with two or more artists. The application extends to any other kinds of collaboration outside the art world. Originally started in Japan.[8]

Related characters

Descendants and related characters in the Latin alphabet

Ancestors and siblings in other alphabets

Computing codes

Character X x
Unicode name LATIN CAPITAL LETTER X     LATIN SMALL LETTER X
Encodings decimal hex decimal hex
Unicode 88 U+0058 120 U+0078
UTF-8 88 58 120 78
Numeric character reference X X x x
EBCDIC family 231 E7 167 A7
ASCII 1 88 58 120 78
1 Also for encodings based on ASCII, including the DOS, Windows, ISO-8859 and Macintosh families of encodings.

In the C programming language, 'x' preceded by zero (0x or 0X) is used to denote hexadecimal literal values.

Other representations

See also

References

  1. "X", Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd edition (1989); Merriam-Webster's Third New International Dictionary of the English Language, Unabridged (1993); "ex", op. cit.
  2. Venezky, Richard (1 January 1970). The Structure of English Orthography. Walter de Gruyter. p. 40. ISBN 978-3-11-080447-8.
  3. Mička, Pavel. "Letter frequency (English)". Algoritmy.net. Retrieved 9 February 2014.
  4. "Dizionario di ortografia e pronunzia" [Dictionary of Spelling and preliminary]. Dizionario di ortografia e pronunzia (in Italian). Retrieved 9 February 2014.
  5. Cajori, Florian (1928). A History of Mathematical Notations. Chicago: Open Court Publishing. p. 381. See History of algebra.
  6. Gordon, Arthur E. (1983). Illustrated Introduction to Latin Epigraphy. University of California Press. p. 44. Retrieved 3 October 2015.
  7. King, David A. (2001). The Ciphers of the Monks. p. 282. In the course of time, I, V and X became identical with three letters of the alphabet; originally, however, they bore no relation to these letters.
  8. http://arkitip.com/product/x-mark-of-collaboration-issue-no-0053x/

External links

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