obelisk

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See also: Obelisk

English

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Etymology

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The Obelisk of Theodosius (sense 1), which was originally erected by Pharaoh Thutmose III around 1490 BCE in Egypt, then transported by the Roman emperor Theodosius I and installed in the Hippodrome of Constantinople (in modern-day Istanbul, Turkey) in 390.

From Middle French obelisque, from Latin obeliscus (“obelisk”), from Ancient Greek ὀβελίσκος (obelískos), diminutive of ὀβελός (obelós, “needle”). Doublet of obelus.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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obelisk (plural obelisks)

  1. (architecture) A tall, square, tapered, stone monolith topped with a pyramidal point, frequently used as a monument. [from mid 16th c.]
    • 2012 January, Henry Petroski, “The Washington Monument”, in American Scientist‎[1], volume 100, number 1, page 16:
      The Washington Monument is often described as an obelisk, and sometimes even as a "true obelisk," even though it is not. A true obelisk is a monolith, a pylon formed out of a single piece of stone.
  2. (typography) Synonym of obelus
    1. (historical) 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.
    2. 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.

Usage notes

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Regarding sense 2, obelus was used in Middle English, but thereafter was displaced by obelisk until the 19th century when both words began to be used with equal regularity.[1]

Alternative forms

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Synonyms

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Hypernyms

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Meronyms

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Derived terms

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Translations

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symbol used in ancient manuscripts and texts to mark a word or passage as doubtful or spurious, or redundant — see obelus

See also

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Verb

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obelisk (third-person singular simple present obelisks, present participle obelisking, simple past and past participle obelisked)

  1. (entomology, of a dragonfly) To adopt the obelisk posture; to point the tip of the abdomen towards the sun.
    • 2004, Cynthia Berger, Dragonflies‎[2]:
      Dragonflies that spend the day in full sun may obelisk to minimize the sunlight striking the body. An obelisking dragonfly looks like it's doing a headstand […]

References

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  1. ^ “obelisk, n.”, in OED Online Paid subscription required⁠, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, March 2004; “obelisk, n.”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.

Polish

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Polish Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia pl
obelisk

Etymology

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Borrowed from French obélisque, from Middle French obelisque, from Latin obeliscus (“obelisk”), from Ancient Greek ὀβελίσκος (obelískos), diminutive of ὀβελός (obelós, “needle”).

Pronunciation

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Noun

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obelisk m inan

  1. (architecture) obelisk (tall, square, tapered, stone monolith topped with a pyramidal point)

Declension

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Declension of obelisk
singular plural
nominative obelisk obeliski
genitive obelisku obelisków
dative obeliskowi obeliskom
accusative obelisk obeliski
instrumental obeliskiem obeliskami
locative obelisku obeliskach
vocative obelisku obeliski

Derived terms

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adjective

Further reading

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  • obelisk in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
  • obelisk in Polish dictionaries at PWN

Serbo-Croatian

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Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /obělisk/
  • Hyphenation: o‧be‧lisk

Noun

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obèlisk m (Cyrillic spelling обѐлиск)

  1. obelisk

Declension

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Declension of obelisk
singular plural
nominative obèlisk obèlisci
genitive obeliska obèlisāka / obèliskā
dative obelisku obeliscima
accusative obelisk obeliske
vocative obelišče / obelisku obelisci
locative obelisku obeliscima
instrumental obeliskom obeliscima

Swedish

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Swedish Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia sv

Pronunciation

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Noun

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obelisk c

  1. an obelisk

Declension

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Declension of obelisk 
Singular Plural
Indefinite Definite Indefinite Definite
Nominative obelisk obelisken obelisker obeliskerna
Genitive obelisks obeliskens obeliskers obeliskernas

References

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