Word: box Part of Speech: verb Etymology: Etymology tree Ancient Greek πῠ́ξος (pŭ́xos) Ancient Greek -ῐς (-ĭs) Ancient Greek πυξίς (puxís)bor. Late Latin buxisbor. Proto-West Germanic *buhsā Old English box Middle English box English box 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”). The humorous plural form boxen is from box + -en, by analogy with oxen. (motor racing): Used since it is more distinct over the radio compared to pit. Also from German Boxenstopp (“pit stop”). Pronunciation: /bɒks/, /bɑks/ 1. To place inside a box; to pack in one or more boxes. Labels: transitive Example: He also testified that the reason he crated the one machine and boxed the other was because one machine was stronger and the other frailer, and that made it dangerous to crate it. Example: Scrapbooks that have enduring value in their original form should be individually boxed in custom-fitted boxes. 2. Usually followed by in: to surround and enclose in a way that restricts movement; to corner, to hem in. Labels: transitive Example: A large majority of children seem to delight in emotionally boxing in their parents—setting the double-bind trap by giving the parent two choices but determining ahead of time that neither choice will be sufficient for their satisfaction. 3. To mix two containers of paint of similar colour to ensure that the color is identical. Labels: transitive Example: Straining eliminates lumps in the paint. If the paint has separated, stir the thick paint up from the bottom of each can to free as many lumps as possible. Then box the paint, pouring it all together through a nylon paint strainer and into the bucket. Paint less than one year old usually doesn't require straining. Older paint might have a thick skin on the top; remove the skin and set it aside. Box the paint, pouring it through a nylon paint strainer into the bucket. 4. To make an incision or hole in (a tree) for the purpose of procuring the sap. Labels: transitive Example: The early settlers either boxed the tree or cut large slanting gashes, from the lower end of which a rudely fashioned spout conducted the sap to a bucket. This method was very destructive to the tree, and boring was substituted for it. 5. To enclose with boarding, lathing, etc., so as to conceal (for example, pipes) or to bring to a required form. Labels: transitive Example: As early as the 1850s, prisons were being made "safer" by boxing in water pipes and enclosing galleries with netting to prevent jumping. 6. To furnish (for example, the axle of a wheel) with a box. Labels: transitive Example: [T]he death of the said deceased Daniel Docherty, while in the defender's employment as an engineman, […] is alleged to have been owing to the engine house, which contained the engine of which the deceased had charge, being of a dangerous and improper construction, and the fly-wheel not having been boxed in or covered: […] 7. To enclose (images, text, etc.) in a box. Labels: transitive 8. To place a value of a primitive type into a casing object. Labels: transitive 9. To enter the pit. Example: “Okay Lewis, so box this lap, box, box”