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Definitions

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

  1. n. A mark (— or ÷) used in ancient manuscripts to indicate a doubtful or spurious passage.
  2. n. Printing See obelisk.

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

  1. n. A mark, so called from its resemblance to a spit, usually made like a dash, thus —, or like an obelisk, thus , and employed in ancient manuscripts to indicate a suspected passage or reading. The latter of these signs is still commonly used in editions of the classics for the same purpose. Another form of the obelus, ÷, similar to our sign of division, was used by the ancients to mark passages as superfluous, especially in philosophical writings.

Wiktionary

  1. n. A mark (÷) used to represent division in mathematics. Also used to indicate a written or printed passage, and in ancient manuscripts to mark a word or passage as spurious or doubtful.
  2. n. A dagger mark (†) used as a reference mark in printed matter, or to indicate that a person is deceased, often used to indicate a footnote.

GNU Webster's 1913

  1. n. (Print.) A mark [thus —, or ÷]; -- so called as resembling a needle. In old MSS. or editions of the classics, it marks suspected passages or readings.

Etymologies

  1. Middle English, from Late Latin obelus, from Greek obelos, a spit, obelus. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)

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  • ulleskelf I wish more people used the obelus. Rather than 2/3 :( May 1, 2009

  • reesetee A symbol consisting of a line with dots above and below (÷) used to represent the mathematical division operation. Originally, this sign (or a plain line) was used in ancient manuscripts to mark passages that were suspected of being corrupted or spurious. The word comes from the Greek word for a sharpened stick, spit, or pointed pillar--the same root as that of "obelisk." Obelus is sometimes used to refer to another symbol usually known as a dagger. Sep 14, 2007

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‘obelus’ has been looked up 2076 times, loved by 1 person, added to 21 lists, commented on 2 times, and has a Scrabble score of 8.