pyx
/pɪks/noun, verb
pyx is spelled P-Y-X: 3 letters. It appears about once in every 29 million words in written English, the 163,711th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, pyx means “A small, usually round container used to hold the host (“consecrated bread or wafer of the Eucharist”), especially when bringing communion to the…” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of pyx is pyxes.
How many letters and syllables are in pyx?
| Letters | 3: P-Y-X |
|---|---|
| In writing | about once in every 29 million words; the 163,711th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Sounds like | |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is pyx?
Pyx appears about once in every 29 million words in written English, the 163,711th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce pyx?
- US /pɪks/
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-I_learned_some_phrases-pyx.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with pyx
Sounds like: pics, pix (Wiktionary's homophone list; some hold only in some accents).
Sources: English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
What rhymes with pyx?
6 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as pyx from its last stressed vowel (/ɪks/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of pyx
- pyxes plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- pix
- pyxing participle, present
- pyxed participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does pyx mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 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.
- 2
rareA (small) box; a casket, a coffret.
- 3
UKA 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.
- 4
obsoleterareA compass used by sailors.
verb
- 1
obsoleteTo place (the host) in a pyx.
- 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.
- 3
UKTo 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.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Pyx in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense container used to hold the host:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | pyxide, custode |
| German | Pyxis, Hostiendose |
| Portuguese | cibório, píxide |
| Spanish | píxide, píxide litúrgico |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does pyx come 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.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).