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Glite Dictionary
pix chest

pix chest

9.9
A chest that holds newly made coins until officials check them
  • noun
  • UK
translation icon : cofre de pix
  • The newly minted coins were carefully placed in the pix chest for safekeeping until the assayers arrived.

Examples

  • Historians studied the contents of an old pix chest found in the Royal Mint archives.

  • Each pix chest was sealed and stored securely as part of the official minting process.

  • The pix chest was filled with freshly minted coins.

  • Many pix chests were inspected during the audit.

  • The newly minted coins were carefully placed in the pix chest for safekeeping until the assayers arrived.

  • Each pix chest was sealed and stored securely as part of the official minting process.

  • Historians studied the contents of an old pix chest found in the Royal Mint archives.

Synonyms

pyx
vspix chest
  • UK
9.9

A box for storing newly made coins before officials test them

is the same meaning but expressed as a two-word phrase
pyx chest
vspix chest
  • UK
9.9

A locked box that holds newly made coins before they are checked for quality

is the same chest name but spelled with i instead

Surface Forms

pix chest singular
pix chests plural

Morphology

pix + chest

The meaning is directly and transparently derivable from the constituents: 'pix' denotes a sealed container for newly minted coins and 'chest' denotes a box, so 'pix chest' clearly refers to a chest holding such coins. Although the term is specialized and rare, its sense is fully compositional (indeed somewhat tautological), so a B1 learner who knows both words would be able to infer the MWE's meaning.

Etymology

Pix chest is the old name for a locked box at a mint where newly made coins were kept. The name may come from an old word 'pyx' for a small box, because mint workers put coins into the pix chest and sealed it until an 'official check', so it means a chest for holding new coins before they are inspected.