[PW] Re: "x" in Rx (prescription)

[Lesleyk]

To totally beat this horse into the ground, I did check my copy of 
Capelli's DIZZIONARIO DI ABBREVIATURE LATINE ED ITALIANE last night, 
and the only medieval abbreviation listed (from the XIVth century) 
for "recipe" didn't look much like an "Rx".  The tail of the "R" was 
looped around more like a cursive "s".  There were other scribal 
abbreviations that looked more like the traditional "Rx" (capital R 
with a long tail with a single cross mark), but they didn't seem to 
have any immediate medical application.

Of course Capelli, whilst darn useful, is hardly exhaustive.  Still, FWIW...

Lesley Knieriem
Rogers Public Library
Rogers Arkansas