No letter in the English language gets around like X. The 24th letter of the alphabet shows up everywhere, from the popular Xbox to standing in for a signature on legal documents. It represents a chromosome, signifies the multiplication process, and marks “the spot” on treasure maps. Let’s explore just a few of the uses of this versatile letter. The story behind the X in Xbox isn’t as mysterious as you might think. The original name was the DirectX box, which came from a group of Microsoft DirectX developers. Microsoft DirectX is a collection of application programming interfaces. Generation X, or Gen X, refers to the generation born after the Baby Boom ended; its last members graduated from high school in 1999. The photographer Robert Capa coined the term. But Douglas Copeland popularized it with a successful novel published in 1991. “Generation X” tells the story of members of an uncertain and lost generation. There are a few theories regarding where and when X was first used to signify the unknown. One probable thought is that Descartes used the last three letters of the alphabet as unknowns to correspond with the first three letters, which were used for known quantities. […]
signature | aláírás |
legal document | hivatalos irat |
multiplication process | szorzás |
to explore | felfedezni |
versatile | sokoldalú |
to coin | megalkotni |
to popularize | népszerűsíteni |
uncertain | bizonytalan |
lost generation | elveszett nemzedék |
to regard | vonatkozni valamire |
to signify | jelezni |
to correspond with something | összhangban van valamivel |
amorous | szerelmes |
hug | ölelés |
affection | szeretet, szerelem |
to designate | jelölni |
raunchy | korhatáros tartalmú |
to follow suit | követni valamiben |
in the same vein | hasonló módon |
target | célpont |
to decry | leszólni |
observance | megünneplés |
respectable | tiszteletre méltó |
to suspect | sejteni, gyanítani |
abbreviation | rövidítés |
to predate | időben megelőzni |
gaudy | díszes, ünnepi |
mass | mise |
