obelism

Etymology

From obelus + -ism.

obelism means The practice of annotating manuscripts with marks set in the margins. Lexicurio rates it Sui generis — a strength score of 88 out of 100.

Why this word is great

OBELISM — [Noun] The scholarly practice of annotating manuscripts with a codified system of marginal marks or symbols. From the Greek obelus ("a spit, a pointed pillar; a critical mark — ÷ or —") and the suffix -ism (denoting a practice or system). Unlike "annotation," a general term for commentary, or "proofreading," a process of correction, obelism is the precise, silent grammar of doubt, a stenography of suspicion etched in the margins. It is the sharp stab of the obelos beside an interpolation, the delicate asteriskos flowering to signal a crux, or the patient constellation of dots tracing a scribal error—the elegant, visual shorthand by which a reader holds a conversation with the text, leaving behind an architecture of considered skepticism.

noun

The practice of annotating manuscripts with marks set in the margins.