obelus means A symbol resembling a horizontal line (–), sometimes together with one or two dots (for example, ⨪ or ÷), which was used in ancient manuscripts and texts to mark a word or passage as doubtful or spurious, or redundant; an obelisk. It carries an Arena rating of 1532, earned across 87 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, obelus ranks #291 of 17,151 for The Improbable, #650 of 17,143 for Best Fossil-Poetry Words, #2,583 of 17,104 for Most Storied Words, #2,819 of 17,149 for Most Exacting Words.
obelus is pronounced /ˈɒbɪləs/.
Why “obelus” is a great word
OBELUS — [Noun] A typographic mark—historically a dash (–), dagger (†), or the division sign (÷)—used to denote a spurious or doubtful textual passage, later evolving into a reference or mathematical symbol. From Middle English obelus, from Old English obelus, from Late Latin obelus (“critical mark”), from Koine Greek ὀβελός (obelós, “critical mark”), from Ancient Greek ὀβελός (obelós, “rod, spit; obelisk”). Unlike the asterisk, which neutrally signals a footnote, or the obelisk, a monumental pillar of stone, the obelus is an editor’s quiet, inky skepticism made manifest. It is the scribe’s faint dagger in a vellum margin, the compositor’s metal ÷ waiting to cleave one number from another, the ghost of a stone needle shrunk to a typographical stitch—a monument not to certainty, but to the vigilance required to preserve what is true.
Etymology
From Middle English obelus, obelo, from Old English obelus, from Late Latin obelus (“critical mark”), from Koine Greek ὀβελός (obelós, “critical mark”), Ancient Greek ὀβελός (obelós, “rod, spit; obelisk; critical mark”). The further etymology is uncertain; a derivation from βέλος (bélos, “arrow, dart, missile”) (from Proto-Indo-European *gʷelH- (“to pierce; to reach; to throw; to hit by throwing”)) has been suggested, but the initial vowel remains unexplained. Compare obelisk. The plural form obeli is derived from Late Latin obeli, from Ancient Greek ὀβελοί (obeloí).
noun
- A symbol resembling a horizontal line (–), sometimes together with one or two dots (for example, ⨪ or ÷), which was used in ancient manuscripts and texts to mark a word or passage as doubtful or spurious, or redundant; an obelisk.
- A dagger symbol (†), which is used in printed matter as a reference mark to refer the reader to a footnote, marginal note, etc.; beside a person's name to indicate that the person is deceased; or beside a date to indicate that it is a person's death date; an obelisk.
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
Words closest in meaning
By meaning, not spelling — each word's AI semantic fingerprint, nearest first.
- obelize 65% match — To mark (a written or printed passage) with an obelus; to judge as spurious or doubtful. vs obelus →
- obelism 63% match — The practice of annotating manuscripts with marks set in the margins. vs obelus →
- obelized 63% match — Marked with an obelus or obelisk; condemned as spurious or corrupt. vs obelus →
- ancora 55% match — Either of the symbols ⟨⸔⟩, ⟨⸕⟩ found in marginal notes to mark missing text. vs obelus →
- middot 55% match — Synonym of interpunct ⟨·⟩. vs obelus →
- dots 54% match — A punctuation mark consisting of three dots, indicating an omission of some text or a sentence which wasn't fully finished, an ellipsis. vs obelus →
- diple 53% match — A mark > once used in margins to draw attention to an important passage in a text. vs obelus →
- oriscus 52% match — An ornamental neume of unclear meaning, usually found added to another neume as an auxiliary note. vs obelus →