xd

x or X (ɛks)

—n , pl x's, X's, Xs
1.	the 24th letter and 19th consonant of the modern English alphabet
2.	a speech sound sequence represented by this letter, in English pronounced as ks or gz or, in initial position, z, as in xylophone

X or X

—n

x or X (ɛks)

—n , pl x's, X's, Xs
1.	the 24th letter and 19th consonant of the modern English alphabet
2.	a speech sound sequence represented by this letter, in English pronounced as ks or gz or, in initial position, z, as in xylophone

X or X

—n

x

—*symbol for*
1.	commerce, banking, finance ex
2.	maths the x-axis or a coordinate measured along the x-axis in a Cartesian coordinate system
3.	an algebraic variable

X

—*symbol for*
1.	formerly, in Britain
	a. indicating a film that may not be publicly shown to anyone under 18. Since 1982 replaced by symbol 18
	b. (as modifier): an X film
2.	denoting any unknown, unspecified, or variable factor, number, person, or thing
3.	(on letters, cards, etc) denoting a kiss
4.	(on ballot papers, etc) indicating choice
5.	(on examination papers, etc) indicating error
6.	for Christ; Christian
7.	Roman numeral See Roman numerals ten

[(sense 6) from the form of the Greek letter khi (Χ), first letter of Khristos Christ]

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline

Word Origin & History

most Eng. words beginning in -x- are of Gk. origin or modern commercial coinages. E. 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 Eng.), sometimes said to be from medieval use, originally a crossed -r-, probably from L. radix (see root). 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 used 1950 in Britain to designate "films deemed suitable for adults only;" adopted in U.S. Nov. 1, 1968.

Slang Dictionary

/X/ n.
1. Used in various speech and writing contexts (also in lowercase) in roughly its algebraic sense of `unknown within a set defined by context' (compare N). Thus, the abbreviation 680x0 stands for 68000, 68010, 68020, 68030, or 68040, and 80x86 stands for 80186, 80286, 80386, 80486, 80586 or 80686 (note that a Unix hacker might write these as 680[0-6]0 and 80[1-6]86 or 680?0 and 80?86 respectively; see glob).
2. [after the name of an earlier window system called `W'] An over-sized, over-featured, over-engineered and incredibly over-complicated window system developed at MIT and widely used on Unix systems.

Jargon
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American Heritage

Abbreviations & Acronyms

abscissa
by
times (that is, multiplication)

adult audiences only
Christ
Christian
experimental
extra
reactance
10

XD
ex dividend

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