Pix

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /pɪks/

Definitions

1. A term for pictures or images, often used in the context of digital photography or online media
2. Refers to colorful, stylistic representations that appeal to the senses typically associated with informal or casual usage
3. Signifies a snapshot or representation, particularly in a playful or whimsical manner, common among younger audiences or in art circles

Etymology: Pix, the plural of "pic" (short for "picture"), was first recorded in Variety in 1916, as part of a batch of clipped words the magazine labelled "slanguage." Its clipped form suggests the film world's taste for brevity, and the word has since spread from the cinema into everyday talk about photographs. The word is also a case of a sound-alike with an older, unrelated history. "Pyx" is a small container, especially the vessel in which the consecrated bread of the Eucharist is kept, and "pix" is recorded as a variant spelling of it. The two words share a sound and a spelling only by coincidence, since the photographic sense came from the shortening of "picture" rather than from the church vessel.

Synonyms: pictures, images, photos, snapshots, illustrations