# A + is a "cross" but why is X a criss?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-is-a-cross-but-why-is-x-a-criss/334465>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [December 7, 2005, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-is-a-cross-but-why-is-x-a-criss/334465 "2005-12-07T04:42:33Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 7\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Meeko](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e495f1/32.png) [@Meeko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meeko)\
**Post date:** [December 7, 2005, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-is-a-cross-but-why-is-x-a-criss/334465/1 "2005-12-07T04:42:33Z")

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Its Xmas time again. And that brings up an interesting question;

Why is X a symbol for the word criss ? What exactly does criss mean ?

And to confuse things further… How did criss-cross originate?

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**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\
**Post date:** [December 7, 2005, 4:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-is-a-cross-but-why-is-x-a-criss/334465/2 "2005-12-07T04:49:53Z")

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> [@](#):
>
> Definitions of xmas on the Web:
> 
> ```
> * abbreviation or informal term for Christmas
> www.englishclub.com/vocabulary/festivals-christmas.htm
> 
> * One of the busiest periods of the year for global travel. Top
> www.travellinksdirectory.com/glossary.htm
> 
> ***Abbreviation for Christmas, replacing "Christ" with the first letter in the Greek for Christ, chi ("X").**
> www.religionfacts.com/christianity/glossary.htm
> 
> * Christmas is one of the best time of the year to sell products from affiliate stores. Top
> www.global-online-internet-business-opportunities.com/glossary.htm
> 
> * Work does not stop on a farm. Animals need to be fed and the cows milked even on Christmas day.
> www.lackhamfarm.co.uk/allterms.asp
> 
> * Christmas: a Christian holiday celebrating the birth of Christ; a quarter day in England, Wales, and Ireland
> http://wordnet.princeton.edu/perl/webwn
> 
> ***Xmas is an abbreviation for Christmas. It is derived from the word ΧΡΙΣΤΟΣ, transliterated as Christos, which is Greek for Christ. Greek is the language in which the whole New Testament was written.**
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xmas
> 
> ```

(Emphasis mine.)

Source: [http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&q=define%3Axmas&btnG=Search](http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&q=define%3Axmas&btnG=Search)

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**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\
**Post date:** [December 7, 2005, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-is-a-cross-but-why-is-x-a-criss/334465/3 "2005-12-07T05:01:12Z")

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As for “criss-cross,” “Criss” is a corruption of “Christ.”

“Hornbooks” were early reading primers. They looked [something like this.](http://www.rootsweb.com/~mosmd/hornbk.jpg)

For reasons that are unclear (apart from simple piety) the first line begins with a representation of Christ’s cross, and was called the “Christ’s cross line.” Over time, this mark came to be called simply the “criss cross.”

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**Author:** ![Mathochist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c89c15/32.png) [@Mathochist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mathochist)\
**Post date:** [December 7, 2005, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-is-a-cross-but-why-is-x-a-criss/334465/4 "2005-12-07T18:47:03Z")

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> [@Duckster](#):
>
> (Emphasis mine.)
> 
> Source: [http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&q=define%3Axmas&btnG=Search](http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&q=define%3Axmas&btnG=Search)

Incidentally, this reminds me of something.

If the X in Xmas is supposed to be a capital chi, as in ??? or TeX, then shouldn’t it be pronounced “khmas”?

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**Author:** ![Rucksinator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/898d66/32.png) [@Rucksinator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rucksinator)\
**Post date:** [December 8, 2005, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-is-a-cross-but-why-is-x-a-criss/334465/5 "2005-12-08T19:35:38Z")

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> [@Mathochist](#):
>
> Incidentally, this reminds me of something.
> 
> If the X in Xmas is supposed to be a capital chi, as in ??? or TeX, then shouldn’t it be pronounced “khmas”?

How do you pronounce the “lb” in this sentence: “The book weighed 1lb.”?

X (chi) is an abbreviation for “Christ”.

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**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\
**Post date:** [December 8, 2005, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-is-a-cross-but-why-is-x-a-criss/334465/6 "2005-12-08T21:37:08Z")

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“lib”, of course. Doesn’t everyone? 😉

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**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\
**Post date:** [December 8, 2005, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-is-a-cross-but-why-is-x-a-criss/334465/7 "2005-12-08T22:13:03Z")

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> [@gigi](#):
>
> “lib”, of course. Doesn’t everyone? 😉

Exactly. I cannot make myself see that as ‘pound’, even though I _know_ that’s what it means.