pixel etymology

Etymology:

• From Latin pix, picis ("a resinous pitch; pine tree or its wood; the dark color produced by pitch") + -el (diminutive suffix).

Meaning and Origin:

The word "pixel" was coined in 1969 by Fred C. Bill, a researcher at the NASA Ames Research Center. Bill combined the suffix "-el" (as in "little") with the term "pix," a common abbreviation for "picture element" in computing at the time.

"Pix" itself originated from the Latin word "pix," which referred to various dark-colored substances such as pitch, pine trees, and their wood. Over time, "pix" came to be associated with the black pigment used in painting and, by extension, with the black dots that formed the basis of early computer images.

Thus, "pixel" literally means "little picture element" and refers to the smallest addressable element of an electronic image. It is used to describe the individual dots that make up a digital image on a display screen or in a digital file. Each pixel has a specific color or shade, and the combination of all the pixels in an image creates the overall picture.

pixel relate terms

• element

  Element Etymology Meaning Origin Actinium

• arrest

  Etymology The word arrest originates from the Old French word arester meaning to s

• component

  Etymology of component Latin componere meaning to put together Root con toget

• constituent

  Etymology The word constituent comes from the Latin word constituens meaning causi

• picture

  Etymology The word picture comes from the Latin word pictura meaning painting or pi

• switch

  Etymology The word switch has multiple etymological origins Dutch zwitsen meanin

• Nice

  Etymology The word nice is derived from the Old French word nice which itself comes

• perfunctory

  Etymology The word perfunctory originates from the Latin phrase per functus which m

• proud

  Etymology Old English prūd prūde Proto Germanic prūdiz Proto Indo European prew