X-ray

X-ray

1. Alternative form of Xray of the ICAO/NATO radiotelephony alphabet

• x-ray, Xray, xray, Ex-ray, ex-ray, Ex ray, ex ray

From X +‎ ray, a calque of German X-Strahl, coined by Wilhelm Röntgen upon his discovery of the rays in 1895, where X signifies their unknown nature. The chess sense is metaphorical, referring to control passing through a seemingly solid barrier.

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈɛks ɹeɪ/
• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈɛks ˌɹeɪ/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

X-ray (plural X-rays)

1. Short wavelength electromagnetic radiation usually produced by bombarding a metal target in a vacuum. Used to create images of the internal structure of objects; this is possible because X-rays pass through most objects and can expose photographic film.

   Synonyms: Röntgen radiation, Roentgen-ray

   X-rays are light with a wavelength between 0.1 and 10 nm.

2. A radiograph: a photograph made with X-rays.

   The doctor ordered some X-rays of my injured wrist.

   • 2012 June 2, Phil McNulty, “England 1-0 Belgium”, in BBC Sport‎^[1]:

     And this friendly was not without its injury worries, with defender Gary Cahill substituted early on after a nasty, needless push by Dries Mertens that caused him to collide with goalkeeper Joe Hart, an incident that left the Chelsea defender requiring a precautionary X-ray at Wembley.

3. An X-ray machine.
4. (chess) A tactical motif where a piece exerts influence or control over a square, piece, or line indirectly through another intervening piece.

X-ray (third-person singular simple present X-rays, present participle X-raying, simple past and past participle X-rayed)

1. (transitive, informal) To take a radiograph of; to obtain an image of using X-ray radiation, especially for the purpose of medical diagnostic evaluation.

   Of course there was nothing wrong with my left wrist. They X-rayed the wrong arm!

   • 1925, Sidney Coe Howard, They Knew What They Wanted (Doubleday, Page and Company), Act II, page 116.

     Both legs broken in the morning. Tibia, fibula, femur, and ischium. X-rayed and set inside of an hour after the accident.

2. (transitive, chess) Of a piece, to exert indirect influence, by either attacking, defending, or controlling an opponent's or friendly piece through an intervening piece along a rank, file, or diagonal.

X-ray (not comparable)

1. Of or relating to X-rays.

   I had to put my bags through an X-ray scanner at the airport.

   • 1974, Shel Silverstein, “Who”, in Where the Sidewalk Ends, HarperCollins:

     Who will fly and have X-ray eyes— And be known as the man no bullet can kill?

• X-ray on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• A picture of an X-ray machine