obelisk

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See also: Obelisk

English[edit]

Etymology[edit]

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[edit]

  • (UK) IPA(key): /ˈɒbəlɪsk/
  • (file)
  • (US) IPA(key): /ˈɔbəlɪsk/, /ˈɑbəlɪsk/

Noun[edit]

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[edit]

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[edit]

Synonyms[edit]

Hypernyms[edit]

Meronyms[edit]

Derived terms[edit]

Translations[edit]

See also[edit]

Verb[edit]

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[edit]

  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[edit]

Polish Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia pl
obelisk

Etymology[edit]

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

Pronunciation[edit]

Noun[edit]

obelisk m inan

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

Declension[edit]

Derived terms[edit]

adjective

Further reading[edit]

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

Serbo-Croatian[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

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

Noun[edit]

obèlisk m (Cyrillic spelling обѐлиск)

  1. obelisk

Declension[edit]

Swedish[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

Noun[edit]

obelisk c

  1. obelisk

Declension[edit]

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