Definition: Pixel

From New World Encyclopedia

Etymology

From pix (pictures), + el (element); often taken to be a blend of ?picture" and "element." The x stems from the abbreviation pics being sometimes also written as pix, which has been in use since the 1880s. First attested in 1965.

Noun

pixel (plural pixels)

  1. One of the tiny dots that make up the representation of an image in a computer's memory.
  2. One of the squares that make up a work of pixel art or a zoomed-in image in a computer.

Derived terms

  • pixel art
  • pixelated
  • pixelation
  • pixelization

Verb

pixel (third-person singular simple present pixels, present participle pixeling or pixelling, simple past and past participle pixeled or pixelled)

  1. To create computer graphics by editing individual pixels.

Credits

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