Approx

Part of speech: adverb, adjective

Definitions

1. A short form of approximately, used to signal that a figure or quantity is close to but not exactly the stated value
2. An informal abbreviation meaning roughly or about, placed before a number, amount or estimate that is not precise
3. Shorthand indicating that a stated number, time or measurement is an estimate rather than an exact figure

Etymology: "Approx" is simply a clipped form of "approximate" (or "approximately"), the abbreviation that writers and printers have long used to save space. Its full source is the Latin "approximare," meaning "to come near to," built from "ad-" ("to") and "proximus" ("nearest"), the superlative of "prope" ("near"). So the core idea behind every use of the word is nearness: something that is close to the true figure without quite matching it. The shortening is the interesting part. Abbreviations with a trailing full stop, like "approx.", were a common printing and note-taking habit, and the clipped form slowly gained acceptance as a word in its own right, especially in informal and technical writing. Because it is an abbreviation rather than an independently inherited word, it still carries the period in its written form in many style guides, and some dictionaries list it only as an alternative spelling of the abbreviation.

Synonyms: approximately, about, roughly, around, nearly