different between obelisk vs column

English

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /??b?l?sk/
• (US) IPA^(key): /??b?l?sk/, /??b?l?sk/

Noun

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.]
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

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.

Alternative forms

• obelisc

Synonyms

• (architecture): aguilla, pylon, stela

Hypernyms

• (architecture): needle

Meronyms

• (architecture): pyramidion

Derived terms

• obeliscal
• obeliscoid, obeliskoid
• obelisklike

Translations

See also

• menhir
• pillar

Verb

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.

References

Polish

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /??b?.l?isk/

Noun

obelisk m inan

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

Declension

Derived terms

• (adjective) obeliskowy

Further reading

• obelisk in Wielki s?ownik j?zyka polskiego, Instytut J?zyka Polskiego PAN
• obelisk in Polish dictionaries at PWN

Serbo-Croatian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ob?lisk/
• Hyphenation: o?be?lisk

Noun

obèlisk m (Cyrillic spelling ???????)

1. obelisk

Declension

Swedish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ob?l?sk/
• Rhymes: -?sk

Noun

obelisk c

1. obelisk

Declension

English

Etymology

From Middle English columne, columpne, columpe, borrowed from Old French columne, from Latin columna (“a column, pillar, post”), originally a collateral form of columen, contraction culmen (“a pillar, top, crown, summit”). Akin to Latin collis (“a hill”), celsus (“high”), probably to Ancient Greek ??????? (koloph?n, “top, summit”).

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /?k?l?m/
• (General American), (Ireland) enPR: k?l??m, IPA^(key): /?k?l?m/
• (General American, rare), (Ireland) enPR: k?l?j?m, IPA^(key): /?k?lj?m/
• Hyphenation: col?umn
• Rhymes: -?l?m

Noun

column (plural columns)

1. (architecture) A solid upright structure designed usually to support a larger structure above it, such as a roof or horizontal beam, but sometimes for decoration.
2. A vertical line of entries in a table, usually read from top to bottom.
3. A body of troops or army vehicles, usually strung out along a road.
4. A body of text meant to be read line by line, especially in printed material that has multiple adjacent such on a single page.

5. A unit of width, especially of advertisements, in a periodical, equivalent to the width of a usual column of text.

6. (by extension) A recurring feature in a periodical, especially an opinion piece, especially by a single author or small rotating group of authors, or on a single theme.

7. Something having similar vertical form or structure to the things mentioned above, such as a spinal column.
8. (botany) The gynostemium
9. (chemistry) An object used to separate the different components of a liquid or to purify chemical compounds.

Synonyms

• (upright structure): post, pillar, sile

Antonyms

• (line of table entries): row (which is horizontal)

Hypernyms

• (upright structure): beam

Derived terms

Translations

Further reading

• column in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• column in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.