Log in or Sign up
  1. pax love

Definitions

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

  1. n. Ecclesiastical A small flat tablet adorned with a sacred image that worshippers kiss when offered the kiss of peace.
  2. n. Ecclesiastical The kiss of peace.
  3. n. A time of wide-ranging stability when there is only a single dominant power. Used with a Latinized name: "Editorials lauding the civilizing influence of Pax Britannica were met with ... a crushing disinterest from most of the public” ( Nisid Hajari).

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

  1. n. In the Roman Catholic Church, a small tablet ornamented with a representation of some Christian scene or symbol. In former times, in the celebration of the mass, it was kissed by the celebrating priest, and was then presented by the acolyte to be kissed by all the officiating ecclesiastics, and by the members of the congregation; but it is now used, except in a few communities, only during certain masses celebrated on special occasions or by high dignitaries. Its use was introduced into church worship during the thirteenth century, taking the place of the then customary form of the kiss of peace, which was abrogated on account of the confusion and inconvenience involved. Also called osculatory.
  2. n. The kiss of peace. See kiss.

Wiktionary

  1. n. A painted, stamped or carved tablet with a representation of Christ or the Virgin Mary, which was kissed by the priest during the Mass ("kiss of peace") and then passed to other officiating clergy and the congregation to be kissed. See also osculatory.
  2. n. informal, usually plural passenger; passengers
  3. interj. A cry for peace or truce in children's games.

GNU Webster's 1913

  1. n. (Eccl.) The kiss of peace; also, the embrace in the sanctuary now substituted for it at High Mass in Roman Catholic churches.
  2. n. (R. C. Ch.) A tablet or board, on which is a representation of Christ, of the Virgin Mary, or of some saint and which, in the Mass, was kissed by the priest and then by the people, in mediæval times; an osculatory. It is still used in communities, confraternities, etc.
  3. n. Eng. Schoolboy Slang Friendship, or a friend; -- esp. in the phrases to make pax with, to make friends with, to be good pax, to be good friends; also, truce; -- used esp. interjectionally.

WordNet 3.0

  1. n. (Roman Catholic Church) a greeting signifying Christian love for those assisting at the Eucharist

Etymologies

  1. Latin pax peace. See peace. (Wiktionary)
  2. Medieval Latin pāx, from Latin, peace. Sense 2, on the model of Late Latin pāx (Rōmāna), the Roman peace, state of security obtaining under Roman rule, alteration of Latin (Rōmāna) pāx. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)

Examples

  • “Center, otherwise known as a "pax" terminal pax is short for passengers.”

    NYT > Home Page

  • “The X and P combined are similar to the Latin word pax, meaning peace.”

    Simon & Schuster: A Handbook of Symbols in Christian Art

  • “Suddenly Anthea said, 'Oh! let it be "pax" -- poor little Pussy -- you know she's the youngest.”

    The Story of the Amulet

  • “He called pax almost straightaway, the little dung piece, but I kept into him until the Pershron twins pulled me off, by which time his face was well colored and pushed out of shape, the punishment I’d given him.”

    Simon & Schuster: Zombies vs. Unicorns

  • “The only other picture of his that need be mentioned here is a predella in a church near Urbino, relating to the theft of a pax, which is attributed to him by many critics.”

    The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume 15: Tournely-Zwirner

  • “The pax was a small tablet of silver or other precious metal, used for giving the kiss of peace during High Mass.”

    English Villages

  • “That is of course assuming Britain's government isn't merely allowed the pretense of control providing they remain wedded to an increasingly bellicose 'pax' americana.”

    The Guardian: Republicans play to win on healthcare repeal | Sahil Kapur

  • “Although interestingly, wikipedia states that "pax yada yada" refers to the empire at it's prime and ergo at a period of peace and minimal military expansion hence the "pax" I suppose.”

    "Hey, look! It's my giant underpants!"

  • “Dev's don't need to directly interfere with the politics, but can easily change the playing field in favor of invaders or defenders to get more or less "pax" if they so choose.”

    Scarcely rare

  • “Skinch was the local children's word for "pax", and I hadn't heard it for at least ten years.”

    Rose cottage

Show 10 more examples...

Log in or sign up to add your own related words.

hypernyms (2)

Words that are more generic or abstract

  1. greeting
  1. salutation

rhymes (52)

Words with the same terminal sound

  1. Acts
  2. Jacks
  3. Macs
  4. Max
  5. Sachs
  6. Saxe
  7. acts
  8. antitax
  9. attacks
  10. ax
  1. axe
  2. backs
  3. blacks
  4. cracks
  5. facts
  6. fax
  7. flax
  8. hacks
  9. impacts
  10. jacks
  1. knacks
  2. knick-knacks
  3. lacks
  4. lax
  5. macks
  6. macs
  7. max
  8. packs
  9. pacts
  10. plaques
  1. pretax
  2. quacks
  3. racks
  4. rax
  5. relax
  6. sacks
  7. sacs
  8. sax
  9. shacks
  10. slacks
  1. smacks
  2. snacks
  3. stacks
  4. tacks
  5. tax
  6. tracks
  7. trax
  8. wacks
  9. wax
  10. whacks
  1. x.
  2. zacks

reverse dictionary (9)

Words that contain this word in their definition

  1. pax
  1. pax-board
  1. paxborde
  1. paxbrede
  1. osculatory
  1. osculatorium
  1. paxillum
  1. Mozarabic
  1. osculum

tags (4)

Free-form, user-generated categorization

  1. peace
  1. n 3 nom s f
  1. pax pacis
  1. tulip

Log in or sign up to add your own tag.

Wordmap

(beta)

Word visualization

Lists

These user-created lists contain the word ‘pax’.

More lists containing ‘pax’

Comments

No comments yet...

Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.

Tweets

Looking for tweets for pax.

‘pax’ has been looked up 4206 times, loved by 1 person, added to 24 lists, and has a Scrabble score of 12.