from
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Pyx \Pyx\, n. [L. pyxis a box, Gr. pyxi`s a box, especially of
boxwood, fr. py`xos the box tree or boxwood. See {Box} a
receptacle.] [Written also {pix}.]
1. (R. C. Ch.) The box, case, vase, or tabernacle, in which
the host is reserved.
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2. A box used in the British mint as a place of deposit for
certain sample coins taken for a trial of the weight and
fineness of metal before it is sent from the mint.
--Mushet.
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3. (Naut.) The box in which the compass is suspended; the
binnacle. --Weale.
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4. (Anat.) Same as {Pyxis}.
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{Pyx cloth} (R. C. Ch.), a veil of silk or lace covering the
pyx.
{Trial of the pyx}, the annual testing, in the English mint,
of the standard of gold and silver coins. --Encyc. Brit.
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