X word meaning9/20/2023 ![]() If it’s xerothermic, then it’s both dry and hot. XericĪn ecological term used to describe anywhere extremely dry or arid. Whatever it is that’s transplanted is called the xenograft. Transplanting organic matter from a non-human into a human (like a pig’s heart valve into a human heart) is called xenotransplantation. Something unusually or irregularly shaped is a xenomorph-which is why it’s become another name for the eponymous creature in the Alien film franchise. The opposite of xenophobia is xenomania or xenophilia, namely an intense enthusiasm or fondness for anything or anyone foreign. The study of extraterrestrial life forms is xenobiology. The scientific study of extraterrestrial phenomena is xenology. The ability to speak a language that you’ve apparently never learned. If you’re xenodochial then you like to entertain strangers. XenodochyĪ 17th-century word for hospitality. XenodochiumĪ guesthouse or hostel, or any similar stopping place for travelers or pilgrims. Xenodocheionologyĭefined as “the lore of hotels and inns” by Merriam-Webster. XenocracyĪ government formed by foreigners or outsiders is a xenocracy. XenizationĪ 19th-century word meaning “the act of traveling as a stranger.” 13. In the 19th century art world, however, xenium came to refer to a still-life painting depicting something like an extravagant display of food or a bowl of fruit. XeniumĪ xenium is a gift or offering given to a stranger, which in its native ancient Greece would once have been a lavish feast or a refreshing spread of food and fruit. Xeniatrophobiaĭon’t like going to see doctors you don’t know? Then you’re xeniatrophobic. The adjective xenial is used to describe a friendly relationship between two parties, in particular between a hospitable host and his or her guests, or diplomatically between two countries. Xenagogueĭerived from the same root as xenophobia, a xenagogue is someone whose job it is to conduct strangers or to act as a guide. Slang from the 1960s for something really, really terrible. Victorian slang for criminals or pickpockets, or people who make a living by some underhand means. In old naval slang, an X-catcher or X-chaser was someone who was good at math-literally someone good at working out the value of x. So, if you’re xanthocomic, you have yellow hair if you’re xanthocroic you have fair hair and pale skin and if you’re xanthodontous, you have yellow teeth. Xanthos was the Ancient Greek word for yellow, and as such is the root of a number of mainly scientific words referring to yellow-colored things. Consequently, her name can be used as a byword for any ill-tempered or cantankerous woman or wife-as used in Shakespeare’s Taming of the Shrew. Xanthippe was the name of Socrates’s wife, who, thanks to a number of Ancient Greek caricatures, had a reputation for henpecking, overbearing behavior. described anything that was “treble excellent.” 2. in Victorian slang meant “double-excellent,” while X. On its own, the letter X is listed in the Oxford English Dictionary as a verb meaning “to cross out a single letter of type.” X. But why not try boosting your vocabulary with these 40 words that start with X? 1. X has never been a common initial letter in English, and even with today’s enormous vocabulary you can still only expect around 0.02 percent of the words in a dictionary to be listed under it. Samuel Johnson put together his Dictionary of the English Language in 1755, there weren't a lot of words that started with X he even included a disclaimer at the bottom of page 2308 that read, “ X is a letter which though found in Saxon words, begins no word in the English language.” Noah Webster went one better when he published his Compendious Dictionary in 1806 that included a single X-word, xebec, defined as “a small three-masted vessel in the Mediterranean Sea.” By the time he compiled his landmark American Dictionary in 1828, that total had risen to 13. ![]()
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