X

X (minuscule: x) is the twenty-fourth letter of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ex (pronounced ), plural exes.

History

The letter ⟨X⟩, representing /ks/, was inherited from the Etruscan alphabet. It perhaps originated in the ⟨Χ⟩ of the Euboean alphabet or another Western Greek alphabet, which also represented /ks/. Its relationship with the ⟨Χ⟩ of the Eastern Greek alphabets, which represented /kʰ/, is uncertain. The pronunciation of /ks/ in the Romance languages underwent sound changes, with various outcomes:

French: /js/ (e.g., laisser from laxare) Italian: /ss/ (e.g., asse from axem) and, in some cases, /ʃʃ/ (e.g., lasciare from laxare) Portuguese: /jʃ/ (e.g., eixo from axem) Romanian: /ps/ (e.g., coapsă from coxa) and /s/ (e.g., lăsa from laxare) Old Spanish: /ʃ/ Spanish: /x/ (e.g., cuja from coxa) In Old Spanish, ⟨x⟩ came to represent /ʃ/, which it still represents in most Iberian languages and in the orthographies of other languages influenced by Spanish, such as Nahuatl. In French (with a few exceptions), Italian, Romanian, and modern Spanish, ⟨x⟩...