Added 7 October 2026
box
/bɒks/ noun
In Latin: capsa, capsula, arca Wiktionary
noun Definition from WordNet 3.1, Princeton University. Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about box at Wordnik → Where our words come from →
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A (usually rectangular) container; may have a lid.
he rummaged through a box of spare parts
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Private area in a theater or grandstand where a small group can watch the performance.
the royal box was empty
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The quantity contained in a box.
he gave her a box of chocolates
verb
Origin
From Middle English box (“container, box, cup”), from Old English box (“box, case”), from Proto-West Germanic *buhsā (“box”) from Late Latin buxis (“box”), Latin pyxis (“small box for medicines or toiletries”), of uncertain origin; compare Ancient Greek πυξίς (puxís, “box or tablet made of boxwood; box; cylinder”) and πύξος (púxos, “box tree; boxwood”). Doublet of piseog, pyx, and pyxis. Cognate with Middle Dutch bosse, busse (“jar; tin; round box”) (modern Dutch bos (“wood, forest”), bus (“container, box; bushing of a wheel”)), Old High German buhsa (Middle High German buhse, bühse, modern German Büchse (“box; can”)), Swedish bössa (“box”).
From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)