Do you know how hard it is to find really interesting X words?   

The first time I did the AtoZ Blogging Challenge was actually in 2012. I was using Blogger, and the unimaginative title and A entry was ‘At Jill’s Reviews takes the Challenge.’  And cringe – my X entry was  ‘X for X-ploring the X-factor in Java’.  Oh dear, feels kind of cheating. 

By 2015 I had smartened up. I was blogging on Reviewfromthehouse.com exclusively. My theme was the ‘Amazon Jungle Cruise ‘ and X was ‘Xenopus Laevus – the frog that changed my life ‘

In 2018 I chose Growing Old Living Young.  X was for Xanthodontous (yellow teeth). 

Last year, 2020. The theme was A Decade of Global Dance Cruising – and X was for  Xanadu – the legendary city of Kubla Khan. 

This year I decided to delve into lexicology and go to the roots – only to find that more correctly I was looking at etymology. But more on that another time. So these terms derive from Greek roots. And most of the terms I knew with these roots were medical.

Xantho – yellow  – as the aforementioned xanthodontous,  or xanthophyll – the yellow coloring in plants 

Xeros – dry –  as in Xerophthalmia ( dry eyes), xerosis (f dry skin) 

Xylo – wood like xylem – the fibrous  parts of a stem or xylophone – wooden bars of the instrument 

Interestingly the Greek city of Xanthos, today located in Turkey doesn’t seem to have anything yellow associated with it. Or does it? Was it named after the mythical horse, Xanthus – the speaking horse, a son of Poseidon.  Hmm. Got to dig out that myth.