pax

[ paks, pahks ]

noun
  1. Ecclesiastical. kiss of peace.

  2. (initial capital letter) a period in history marked by the absence of major wars, usually imposed by a predominant nation.

Origin of pax

1
1325–75; Middle English <Latin: peace

Words Nearby pax

Other definitions for Pax (2 of 3)

Pax
[ paks, pahks ]

noun
  1. the Roman goddess of peace.

Other definitions for PAX (3 of 3)

PAX

  1. private automatic exchange.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use pax in a sentence

  • These were the historic building blocks of a failed pax Americana.

    The End of U.S. Imperium—Finally! | David Stockman | September 3, 2013 | THE DAILY BEAST
  • Fines autem accidentales extrinseci plurimi esse possunt, ut pax concilianda, voluptas captanda, etc.

  • Odd—when pax had ruled, there were thought police and the cardinal sin was to be a liberal, to experiment, to seek knowledge.

    Star Born | Andre Norton
  • Men of pax perhaps who had come to hunt down the outlaws who had successfully eluded their rule on earth?

    Star Born | Andre Norton
  • British children still cross their forefingers as a sign of treus, pax, or fainits.

    Archaic England | Harold Bayley
  • Abandoned in infancy, he was reared by pax, goddess of peace, who is often represented as holding him in her lap.

British Dictionary definitions for pax (1 of 3)

pax

/ (pæks) /


noun
  1. mainly RC Church

    • a greeting signifying Christian love transmitted from one to another of those assisting at the Eucharist; kiss of peace

    • a small metal or ivory plate, often with a representation of the Crucifixion, formerly used to convey the kiss of peace from the celebrant at Mass to those attending it, who kissed the plate in turn

interjection
  1. British school slang a call signalling an end to hostilities or claiming immunity from the rules of a game: usually accompanied by a crossing of the fingers

Origin of pax

1
Latin: peace

British Dictionary definitions for Pax (2 of 3)

Pax

/ (pæks) /


noun
  1. the Roman goddess of peace: Greek counterpart: Irene

  2. a period of general peace, esp one in which there is one dominant nation

Origin of Pax

2
Latin: peace

British Dictionary definitions for PAX (3 of 3)

PAX

abbreviation for
  1. private automatic exchange

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012