X

by Ambrose Bierce

　　Xin our alphabet being a needless letter has an added invincibility to theattacks of the spelling reformers, and like them, will doubtless last aslong as the language. X is the sacred symbol of ten dollars, and in suchwords as Xmas, Xn, etc., stands for Christ, not, as is popular supposed,because it represents a cross, but because the

　　corresponding letter in the Greek alphabet is the initial of his name --Xristos. If it represented a cross it would stand for St. Andrew,who "testified" upon one of that shape. In the algebra of psychologyx stands for Woman's mind. Words beginning with X are Grecian and will notbe defined in this standard English dictionary.