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ENGLISH · A WORD WITH POSSIBILITIES

pyx.

A small, usually round container used to hold the host (“consecrated bread or wafer of the Eucharist”), especially when bringing communion to the sick or others unable to attend Mass.

3 characters1 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

noun/pɪks/General-American, Received-Pronunciation
  1. A small, usually round container used to hold the host (“consecrated bread or wafer of the Eucharist”), especially when bringing communion to the sick or others unable to attend Mass.

    also · figuratively
  2. A (small) box; a casket, a coffret.

    broadly · rare
  3. A box used in a mint as a place to deposit sample coins intended to have the fineness of their metal and their weight tested before the coins are issued to the public.

    UK
  4. A compass used by sailors.

    obsolete · rare
Where this word comes from

The noun is derived from Late Middle English pix, pixe (“vessel for holding a host, pyx; hip bone socket, pyxis”) [and other forms], from Late Latin pyxis (“vessel for holding a host”), Latin pyxis (“small box for medicines or toiletries; box holding sample coins for testing; hip bone socket; sailor's compass”), from Koine Greek πυξίς (puxís), Ancient Greek πῠξῐ́ς (pŭxĭ́s, “box; box or tablet made of boxwood; cylinder”), from πῠ́ξος (pŭ́xos, “box tree; boxwood”) + -ῐς (-ĭs, suffix forming feminine nouns). Doublet of box, piseog, and pyxis. The verb is derived from the noun.

verb/pɪks/General-American, Received-Pronunciation
  1. To place (the host) in a pyx.

    obsolete · transitive
  2. To enclose (something) in a box or other container; specifically, to place (a deceased person's body) in a coffin; to coffin, to encoffin.

    figuratively · transitive
  3. To deposit (sample coins) in a pyx; (by extension) to test (such coins) for the fineness of metal and weight before a mint issues them to the public.

    UK · transitive
Where this word comes from

The noun is derived from Late Middle English pix, pixe (“vessel for holding a host, pyx; hip bone socket, pyxis”) [and other forms], from Late Latin pyxis (“vessel for holding a host”), Latin pyxis (“small box for medicines or toiletries; box holding sample coins for testing; hip bone socket; sailor's compass”), from Koine Greek πυξίς (puxís), Ancient Greek πῠξῐ́ς (pŭxĭ́s, “box; box or tablet made of boxwood; cylinder”), from πῠ́ξος (pŭ́xos, “box tree; boxwood”) + -ῐς (-ĭs, suffix forming feminine nouns). Doublet of box, piseog, and pyxis. The verb is derived from the noun.

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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.

Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.