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obelisk

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
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 B.C.E. 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”). Compare obelus.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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obelisk (plural obelisks)

  2. (architecture) A tall, square, tapered, stone monolith topped with a pyramidal point, frequently used as a monument. [from mid 16th c.]
    • 1992, Neal Stephenson, Snow Crash, page 200:
      "The clay envelope is Sumerian. It is from the third millennium B.C. It was dug up from the city of Eridu is southern Iraq. The black stele or obelisk is the Code of Hammurabi, which dates from about 1750 B.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.
  4. (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.
  5. (virology) An RNA structure similar to a viroid, with a rod-like secondary structure, which comprises its own phylogenetic group.

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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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: 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.

    Pronunciation

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    Noun

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    obelisk m inan (related adjective obeliskowy)

    1. obelisk (tall, square, tapered, stone monolith topped with a pyramidal point, frequently used as a monument)

    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

    Further reading

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    • “obelisk”, in Wielki słownik języka polskiego‎[3] (in Polish), Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
    • “obelisk”, in Polish dictionaries at PWN‎[4] (in Polish)
    • obelisk in PWN's encyclopedia

    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 inan (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
    nominative genitive
    singular indefinite obelisk obelisks
    definite obelisken obeliskens
    plural indefinite obelisker obeliskers
    definite obeliskerna obeliskernas

    References

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    Retrieved from "https://en.wiktionary.org/w/index.php?title=obelisk&oldid=91477176"