pyx

Webster's Dictionary (1913)

Origin: L. pyxis a box, Gr. πυξίς a box, especially of boxwood, fr. πύξος the box tree or boxwood. See Box a receptacle.

1. Roman Catholic Church The box, case, vase, or tabernacle, in which the host is reserved.

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. Robert Mushet

3. Nautical The box in which the compass is suspended; the binnacle. John Weale

4. Anatomy Same as Pyxis.

Pyx cloth Roman Catholic Church, 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. Encyclopædia Britannica

To test as to weight and fineness, as the coins deposited in the pyx. British Robert Mushet

Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913), from GCIDE 0.54