Where does “pixel” come from?
Pixel is a modern coinage blending picture and element, ultimately from Ancient Greek πύξος, a boxwood tree, via πυξίς meaning a small container or box.
pixel (English): One of the tiny dots that make up the...
Definitions
- One of the tiny dots that make up the...
Ancestry of “pixel”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | pix | 1946, “Palisades Notes”, in "The Billboard",... |
| 2 | English | pictures | plural of picture; API pl; cinema, movie theatre |
| 3 | English | picture | A representation of anything upon canvas, paper,... |
| 4 | Middle English | pycture | — |
| 5 | Old French | picture | — |
| 6 | Latin | pictūra | painting, the art of painting |
| 7 | Latin | pingō | to decorate, adorn, embellish |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | peyḱ- | to hew, cut out; to stitch, embroider, sting; to... |