词源字典 X.docVIP

X 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 didnt 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 expl