ὀβελός

Ancient Greek

Alternative forms

• ὀδελός (Doric)

Etymology

From Proto-Indo-European *gʷl̥nāmi. Cognates include Old Irish at·baill, and Old English cwelan.

Pronunciation

• (5th BC Attic): IPA: /obelós/

• (1st BC Egyptian): IPA: /obɛlós/

• (4th AD Koine): IPA: /oβelós/

• (10th AD Byzantine): IPA: /ovelós/

• (15th AD Constantinopolitan): IPA: /ovelós/

Noun

ὀβελός (genitive ὀβελοῦ) m, second declension; (obelos)

1. a spit, rod
   • 460-420 BC, Herodotus, Histories, 2.41
   1. (ὀβελὸς λίθινος) a pointed square pillar, obelisk
2. a horizontal line
   • Lucianus, Essays in Portraiture Defended, 24

Usage notes

The horizontal line was used as a critical mark to point out that a passage was spurious, but with one point below and one above (÷) (ὀβελὸς περιστιγμένος) it denoted superfluous passages, especially in philosophical writings.

Inflection

Second declension of ὀβελός, ὀβελοῦ

Case / #	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	ὀβελός	ὀβελώ	ὀβελοί
Genitive	ὀβελοῦ	ὀβελοῖν	ὀβελῶν
Dative	ὀβελῷ	ὀβελοῖν	ὀβελοῖς
Accusative	ὀβελόν	ὀβελώ	ὀβελούς
Vocative	ὀβελέ	ὀβελώ	ὀβελοί

References

• LSJ 8th edition