Etymology Explorer › English

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

  1. One of the tiny dots that make up the...

Ancestry of “pixel”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Englishpix1946, “Palisades Notes”, in "The Billboard",...
2Englishpicturesplural of picture; API pl; cinema, movie theatre
3EnglishpictureA representation of anything upon canvas, paper,...
4Middle Englishpycture—
5Old Frenchpicture—
6Latinpictūra—
7Latinpingō—
8Proto-Indo-Europeanpeyḱ-to hew, cut out; to stitch, embroider, sting; to...

Words derived from “pixel”

  • megapixel
  • subpixel
  • pixelation
  • superpixel
  • pixelization
  • pixelwise
  • pixelate
  • interpixel
  • gigapixel
  • multipixel
  • pixelisation
  • pixeled
  • pixelize
  • pixeling
  • pixelmap
  • pixelscape
  • terapixel
  • nonpixel
  • biopixel
  • pixeler
  • kilopixel
  • micropixel
  • pixelly
  • mégapixel
Every word from Proto-Indo-European peyḱ- →