obelisk
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See also: Obelisk
English[edit]
Etymology[edit]
From Middle French obelisque, from Latin obeliscus (“obelisk”), from Ancient Greek ὀβελίσκος (obelískos), diminutive of ὀβελός (obelós, “needle”). Doublet of obelus.
Pronunciation[edit]
Noun[edit]
obelisk (plural obelisks)
- (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.
- (typography) Synonym of obelus
- (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.
- 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]
- (architecture): needle
Meronyms[edit]
- (architecture): pyramidion
Derived terms[edit]
Translations[edit]
tall, square, tapered, stone monolith topped with a pyramidal point
|
symbol used in ancient manuscripts and texts to mark a word or passage as doubtful or spurious, or redundant — see obelus
dagger symbol — see also dagger
See also[edit]
Verb[edit]
obelisk (third-person singular simple present obelisks, present participle obelisking, simple past and past participle obelisked)
- (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]
- ^ “obelisk, n.”, in OED Online , Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, March 2004; “obelisk, n.”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.
Polish[edit]
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
- (architecture) obelisk (tall, square, tapered, stone monolith topped with a pyramidal point)
Declension[edit]
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[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]
Noun[edit]
obèlisk m (Cyrillic spelling обѐлиск)
Declension[edit]
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[edit]
Pronunciation[edit]
Noun[edit]
obelisk c
Declension[edit]
Declension of obelisk | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Singular | Plural | |||
Indefinite | Definite | Indefinite | Definite | |
Nominative | obelisk | obelisken | obelisker | obeliskerna |
Genitive | obelisks | obeliskens | obeliskers | obeliskernas |
Categories:
- English terms derived from Proto-Indo-European
- English terms derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *gʷelH-
- English terms derived from Middle French
- English terms derived from Latin
- English terms derived from Ancient Greek
- English doublets
- English 3-syllable words
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
- English terms with audio links
- English lemmas
- English nouns
- English countable nouns
- en:Architecture
- English terms with quotations
- en:Typography
- English terms with historical senses
- English verbs
- en:Entomology
- Polish terms borrowed from French
- Polish terms derived from French
- Polish terms derived from Middle French
- Polish terms derived from Latin
- Polish terms derived from Ancient Greek
- Polish 3-syllable words
- Polish terms with IPA pronunciation
- Polish terms with audio links
- Rhymes:Polish/ɛlisk
- Rhymes:Polish/ɛlisk/3 syllables
- Polish lemmas
- Polish nouns
- Polish masculine nouns
- Polish inanimate nouns
- pl:Architecture
- Serbo-Croatian terms with IPA pronunciation
- Serbo-Croatian lemmas
- Serbo-Croatian nouns
- Serbo-Croatian masculine nouns
- sh:Architecture
- Swedish terms with IPA pronunciation
- Rhymes:Swedish/ɪsk
- Rhymes:Swedish/ɪsk/2 syllables
- Swedish lemmas
- Swedish nouns
- Swedish common-gender nouns
- sv:Heraldic charges