Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary 1908/X Xyster



the twenty-fourth letter in our alphabet, having in modern English the value of ks, which it had in Anglo-Saxon—except at the beginning of a word, where it is pronounced like z. As a numeral X stands for ten, for a thousand, X for ten thousand; X as an abbreviation represents the word Christ—Xian, Xmas; x in algebra is the first of the unknown quantities; and the use of X, XX, and XXX on barrels of stout is a well-known way of indicating the quality.—X-rays, the name given by Röntgen of Würzburg in 1895 to those dark or invisible rays emitted, under the influence of an electric current, from a glass-bulb highly exhausted of air through an aluminium window into a close box, and which when passed through the hand or other part of the body imprint a shadow-picture of the bones on a sensitive photographic plate—a discovery of high value in surgery, enabling a bullet, &c., embedded in the flesh to be carefully localised.

Xantheine, zan′the-in, n. the yellow colouring matter of flowers. [From Gr. xanthos, yellow.]

Xanthian, zan′thi-an, adj. pertaining to Xanthus, the capital of ancient Lycia, in Asia Minor.

Xanthin, zan′thin, n. a name given to the yellow colouring matter of various flowers, to a principle in madder, and to a deposit of urine.—n. ', a salt of xanthic acid.—adj. '. [Gr. xanthos, yellow.]

Xanthium, zan′thi-um, n. a weedy plant of the aster family.—Also Cockle-bur, Clot-bur.

Xanthochroi, zan-thok′roi, n.pl. one of the five groups of men, according to Huxley and other ethnologists, comprising the fair whites.—n. ', a yellow discolouration of the skin.—adjs. ', . [Formed through L. from Gr. xanthos, yellow, chroa, skin.]

Xanthoma, zan-thō′ma, n. a skin disease consisting of a growth of flat or tuberculated yellowish patches, often on the eyelids.—adj. . [Gr. xanthos, yellow.]

Xanthomelanous, zan-thō-mel′a-nus, adj. applied to a type of men with black hair and yellow or olive skins. [Gr. xanthos, yellow, melas, -anos, black.]

Xanthophyll, zan′thō-fil, n. any one of certain yellow pigments contained in leaves.

Xanthopsy, zan′thop-si, n. a kind of colour-blindness in which everything looks yellowish.

Xanthosis, zan-thō′sis, n. the formation of a yellowish pigment in the areolar or muscular tissue, discolouring the skin—esp. in cancerous tumours.

Xanthous, zan′thus, adj. yellow. [Gr. xanthos, yellow.]

Xanthoxylum, zan-thok′si-lum, n. a genus of the Rutaceæ, comprising over one hundred species, of which many are found in Brazil and the West Indies—the Prickly Ash or Toothache-tree. [Formed from Gr. xanthos, yellow, xylon, wood.]

Xanthura, zan-thū′ra, n. a genus of American jays, with yellow tail. [Gr. xanthos, yellow, oura, tail.]

Xantippe, zan-tip′e, n. a scold, shrew. [Wife of Socrates.]

Xebec, zē′bek, n. a small three-masted vessel much used by the former corsairs of Algiers. [Sp.,—Turk. sumbakī.]

Xema, zē′ma, n. the genus of fork-tailed gulls.

Xenarthral, zen-arth′ral, adj. peculiarly jointed, as dorso-lumbar vertebræ. [Gr. xenos, strange, arthron, a joint.]

Xenial, zē′ni-al, adj. of or belonging to hospitality. [Gr. xenos, a guest.]

Xenium, zē′ni-um, n. a present made to a guest, stranger, or ambassador. [Gr.]

Xenodochy, zē-nod′ō-ki, n. reception of strangers.—n. , a building for the reception of strangers: an inn in modern Greece.

Xenogamy, zen-og′a-mi, n. (bot.) cross-fertilisation. [Gr. xenos, strange, gamos, marriage.]

Xenogenesis, zen-ō-jen′e-sis, n. the generation of something altogether and permanently unlike the parent.—adj. . [Gr. xenos, a stranger, genesis, birth.]

Xenomania, zen-ō-mā′ni-a, n. an inordinate attachment to things foreign. [Gr. xenos, foreign, mania, madness.]

Xenomenia, zen-ō-mē′nī-a, n. vicarious or supplementary menstruation. [Gr. xenos, strange, mēniaia, menses.]

Xenomorphic, zen-ō-mor′fik, adj. not having its own proper form, but an irregular shape impressed by adjacent minerals. [Gr. xenos, strange, morphē, form.]

Xenops, zē′nops, n. a genus of South American tree-creepers, with short turned-up bills. [Gr. xenos, strange, ōps, face.]

Xenurus, zē-nū′rus, n. a genus of armadillos.—adj. . [Gr. xenos, strange, oura, tail.]

Xeransis, zē-ran′sis, n. siccation.—Also .

Xerantic, zē-ran′tik, adj. drying up, exsiccant.

Xerasia, zē-rā′si-a, n. a morbid dryness of the hair.—Also . [Gr. xēros, dry.]

Xeroderma, zē-rō-der′ma, n. a morbid state of dryness of the skin due to diminished secretion of the sebaceous glands.

Xerodes, zē-rō′dēs, n. any tumour attended with dryness.

Xeromyrum, zē-rom′i-rum, n. a dry ointment.

Xerophagy, zē-rof′a-ji, n. the habit of living on dry food. [Gr. xēros, dry, phagein, to eat.]

Xerophilous, zē-rof′i-lus, adj. (bot.) loving dryness.

Xerophthalmia, zē-rof-thal′mi-a, n. a dry form of conjunctivis.

Xerostomia, zē-rō-stō′mi-a, n. abnormal dryness of the mouth.

Xerotes, zē′rō-tēz, n. a dry habit of body.—adj. .

Xerotribia, zē-rō-trib′i-a, n. dry friction.—Also .

Xiphoid, zif′oid, adj. resembling the sword-fish.

Xoanon, zō′a-non, n. a primitive statue, fallen from heaven, originally of wood, later overlaid with ivory and gold. [Gr.]

X-rays. See under X.

Xylanthrax, zī-lan′thraks, n. wood-coal.

Xylem, zī′lem, n. the woody part of vegetable tissue—opposed to the phloëm, or bast part.

Xylobalsamum, zī-lō-bal′sa-mum, n. the dried twigs of the balm-of-Gilead tree.

Xylocarp, zī′lō-kärp, n. a hard and woody fruit.—adj. .

Xylography, zi-log′ra-fi, n. the art of engraving on wood.—ns. ', an impression or print from a wood block: an impression of the grain of wood for surface decoration; '.—adjs. ', '. [Gr. xylon, wood, graphein, to write.]

Xyloid, zī′loid, adj. woody, ligneous.

Xyloidine, zī-loi′din, n. an explosive like gun-cotton, prepared by the action of strong nitric acid on starch or woody fibre. [Gr. xylon, wood, eidos, form, appearance.]

Xylol, zī′lol, n. any of the metameric dimethyl benzenes. [Gr. xylon, wood, L. oleum, oil.]

Xylonite, zī′-lō-nīt, n. a kind of celluloid (q.v.). [Gr. xylon, wood.]

Xylophagan, zī-lof′a-gan, n. one of the , a genus of boring bivalves.

Xylophagous, zī-lof′a-gus, adj. wood-eating.

Xylophilous, zī-lof′i-lus, adj. fond of wood, living upon wood.

Xylophone, zī′lō-fōn, n. a musical instrument consisting of a graduated series of wooden bars, which are rested on straw, and are struck by wooden hammers. [Gr. xylon, wood, phōnē, a voice.]

Xylopia, zī-lō′pī-a, n. a genus of plants, natives of the tropics, chiefly in America. [Gr. xylon, wood, pikros, bitter.]

Xylopyrography, zī-lō-pī-rog′ra-fi, n. poker-painting.

Xyst, zist, n. a covered portico used by athletes for their exercises.—Also ', '.

Xyster, zis′tėr, n. a surgeon's instrument for scraping bones.