different between obelus vs obolus

English

Etymology

From Middle English obelus, obelo, from Old English obelus, from Late Latin obelus (“critical mark”), from Koine Greek ?????? (obelós, “critical mark”), Ancient Greek ?????? (obelós, “rod, spit; obelisk; critical mark”). The further etymology is uncertain; a derivation from ????? (bélos, “arrow, dart, missile”) (from Proto-Indo-European *g?elH- (“to pierce; to reach; to throw; to hit by throwing”)) has been suggested, but the initial vowel remains unexplained. The English word is a doublet of obelisk.

The plural form obeli is derived from Late Latin obeli, from Ancient Greek ?????? (obeloí).

Pronunciation

• Singular:
  • (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /??b?l?s/, /??bl?s/
  • (General American) IPA^(key): /??b?l?s/
• Plural (obeli):
  • (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /??b?la?/
  • (General American) IPA^(key): /??b??la?/
• Hyphenation: obe?lus

Noun

obelus (plural obeluses or obeli) (typography)

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; an obelisk.
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; an obelisk.

Usage notes

• 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.
• An obelus with two dots above and below the line (÷) is now often used in mathematical equations to represent division.

Derived terms

• double obelus (rare)
• obelic
• obelised, obelized (adjective)

Related terms

• obelisk
• obelism (obsolete, rare)
• obelise, obelize

Translations

See also

• double dagger

References

Further reading

• obelus on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Anagrams

• Belous, Lobues, besoul, blouse, boules

English

Alternative forms

• obol
• obolos

Etymology

Latin obolus, from Ancient Greek ?????? (obolós), from ?????? (obelós). Doublet of obole and pul

Noun

obolus (plural oboli or oboluses)

1. A silver coin minted in Ancient Greece, valued at a sixth of a drachma.

Translations

Latin

Pronunciation

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /?o.bo.lus/, [??b????s?]
• (Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /?o.bo.lus/, [???b?lus]

Noun

obolus m (genitive obol?); second declension

1. obolus

Declension

Second-declension noun.

References

• obolus in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• obolus in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• obolus in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition, 1883–1887)
• obolus in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré Latin-Français, Hachette
• obolus in Harry Thurston Peck, editor (1898) Harper's Dictionary of Classical Antiquities, New York: Harper & Brothers
• obolus in William Smith et al., editor (1890) A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities, London: William Wayte. G. E. Marindin