From Greek 'pyxis' (boxwood container) via Latin — named for the dense boxwood used to make containers, the material becoming the generic word.
A rigid container, typically rectangular with a flat base and sides, used for storage or transport.
From Old English 'box,' from Late Latin 'buxis' (a container), from Latin 'buxus,' from Greek 'pyxis' (πυξίς) meaning 'box, container,' originally 'a container made from boxwood,' from 'pyxos' (πύξος) meaning 'boxwood tree.' The word thus traces back to the tree whose dense, fine-grained wood was ideal for making small containers, especially those for medicines and ointments. The wood gave its name to the container, and
The English word 'box' and the church vessel called a 'pyx' (used to hold the consecrated Eucharist) are the same word — both from Greek 'pyxis,' a boxwood container. English got 'box' through the popular Latin channel with the initial 'p' shifted to 'b,' while 'pyx' was borrowed later directly from the learned Latin form, preserving the original Greek 'p.'