Thursday, December 21, 2017

WHY IS LETTER "X" SO POWERFUL?







 Wishing all  my Cyber friends  and well wishers A






"X" is a powerful, formidable and pure letter!

Though "X"  the 24th letter in the English alphabet takes the smallest space in the dictionary, its semantics boasts of unusual bearings. Hence, its fascinating imageries are worth exploring. 'X', as the prompt letter for this week needed some brain storming efforts. My attempts bore some fruit. Here it goes….

XMAS:

Let’s take up its sacred or holy connotations first. Luckily, it is in tune with the build up to the coming days of festivities globally. Oh yes, I’m referring to the hallowed festival Christmas. 'Xmas' is its common abbreviation. "X" comes from the Greek word CHI, which is the first letter of Greek word  Χριστός, that in English  stands for Christ. The MAS part is from the Latin, which is old English for Mass. "X" is the accepted representation of the word Christ for hundreds of years.'

 Xmas is the grandest occasion with multiple emotional undertones. It embraces cheer and joy of decorating Christmas trees and houses with fancy lights and trinkets. It represents affectionate reunions, elaborate dinners and shopping extravaganzas. It involves, exchange of gifts and warm togetherness around the fireplace and much more.

THE SWASTIKA SYMBOL:

The hooked cross is the swastika symbol. Traditionally the four arms of the cross represent four seasons. It is a sign of good fortune and well being. It is a sacred symbol in Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism. In towns, I've seen this sign carved on verandah walls for good fortune and prosperity.

Its presence in German dictator Adolf Hitler’s Party flag has always been intriguing. It is alleged that Hitler regarded the symbol having magical powers, which would help him achieve world dominance.

 WHAT ARE X-RATED FILMS?:

X-rated film are films for adult viewing. Such films are not meant to be watched by the under 18s because of their content showing excessive violence, sex or obscenities.

XENOPHOBIA IS A FORMIDABLE WORD:

Its dictionary meaning terms it as an extreme fear or dislike of foreigners, their customs and their religions. This syndrome is gaining ground fast in some pockets of the world. Hate crimes, cold blooded murders, physical assaults of foreign workers, looting and burning of their businesses, are all manifestations of this malady.

SKULL AND CROSSBONES:
 
It is a symbol of danger, death or fatalities. We often see it on electric installations, poles etc. The image also appears on containers of poisonous chemicals.

X-ray:
 It is a diagnostic machine. The picture taken with this machine helps the physician to pinpoint the cause of trouble.  The chest X-rays aided considerably in the eradication of Tuberculosis in the world.

The X-factor:

X- factor is a special quality a person or thing has, which attracts others.
 Her X-factor is her charm, which makes her the much sought after actor.

XS, XL

In clothing sizes, XS stands for extra small and XL represents extra-large size. It makes our search for the right size a lot easier.

XYLOPHONE

X's musicality:
"A musical instrument consisting of flat wooden bars of different lengths which you hit with a pair of sticks that have hard round ends made from wood or plastic."

Xerox:

 Xerox machine at one time revolutionized the making of multiple copies of documents. Now we take it for granted.

X is a sign in Roman system meaning number 10.

X is a multiplication symbol in Arithmetic and a powerful algebraic symbol. Plus, minus, multiplication and division are the symbols every child gets initiated into in primary classes.

To keep one's fingers crossed:

I'm sure most  of us keep  our fingers crossed occasionally, while driving or traveling. I for one do it all the time e.g. when driving home, my husband says,'' Within ten minutes,we'll reach home." I always remark," Pl. keep your fingers crossed till we reach home safely."  Moreover we use this idiom repeatedly the days we're expecting some good news.  

There are umpteen number of feats which "X" has achieved in the field of word power but  I'll let it go now for fear of making  the narrative lengthy.

images, courtesy Google

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10 comments:

  1. Hari OM
    What a wonderful eXploration!!! &*> Festive greetings to you dear lady. May 2018 bring good health and further inspiration. YAM xx

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  2. I never thought I'd ever say how exhausting x's can be. lol Awesome line-up. Happy Holidaze!

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  3. Interesting you mention the swastika. American Indians used this symbol - positioned as the Hindu symbol is - for 100s of years - before Hitler adopted it.

    Thanks for all the interesting facts!

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  4. Does every alphabet has some significance like this?

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  5. Hello, this is an interesting post. Thanks for sharing. I wish you all the best in 2018, a happy and healthy New Year.

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  6. All very interesting, but as a matter of personal taste I will never write "Xmas" to refer to this holiday. It seems to me that more and more these days, our society is ignoring the religious meaning of Christmas... which is Christ coming into the world. I am always amazed to reflect on the humility shown by God - the Creator of all which is - coming to save us in the form of a helpless baby.

    I wish you a Merry Christmas.

    Thanks for sharing at https://image-in-ing.blogspot.com/2017/12/a-word-ful-wordless-wednesday-on.html

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  7. I intuitively knew that naming my new schnauzer pup Xena was the right thing to do!

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  8. Interesting letter... much more to tell about then one first thinks

    Have a ♥=warming ABC-Wednes-day / – week, but most of all Christmas!
    ♫ M e l ☺ d y ♫ (ABC-W-team)
    http://melodymusic.nl/21-x

    ReplyDelete