# pax

> English word · Noun · IPA /pæks/ · frequency rank #19,655

## Definitions
1. A painted, stamped or carved tablet with a representation of Christ or the Virgin Mary, which was kissed by the priest during the Mass ("kiss of peace") and then passed to other officiating clergy and the congregation to be kissed. See also osculatory.
2. Friendship; truce.
3. The kiss of peace.
4. A crucifix, a tablet with the image of Christ on the cross upon it, or a reliquary.
5. Any of several notable periods of peace in human history, particularly owing to unquestionable hegemony on the model of the Pax Romana.

## Etymology
From Middle English pax and Latin pax (“peace”). Doublet of peace. See peace. As school slang, originally used at Winchester College, Hampshire, in the United Kingdom.

## Easily confused with
- **PM** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/pax-vs-pm)
- **PC** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/pax-vs-pc)
- **PP** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/pax-vs-pp)
- **PR** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/pax-vs-pr)
- **pt** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/pax-vs-pt)
- **PS** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/pax-vs-ps)
- **po** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/pax-vs-po)
- **pi** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/pax-vs-pi)
- **PG** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/pax-vs-pg)
- **PL** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/pax-vs-pl)
- **PE** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/pax-vs-pe)
- **PD** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/pax-vs-pd)
- **PB** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/pax-vs-pb)
- **PF** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/pax-vs-pf)
- **PU** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/pax-vs-pu)
- **PK** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/pax-vs-pk)
- **PV** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/pax-vs-pv)
- **PJ** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/pax-vs-pj)
- **PW** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/pax-vs-pw)
- **PX** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/pax-vs-px)

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/pax