obelisk en · NOUN
Pronunciation
- /ˈɑbəlɪsk/ (US) without the cot–caught merger
- /ˈɑbəlɪsk/ (US, cot-caught-merger)
- /ˈɔbəlɪsk/ (US) without the cot–caught merger
- (Southern-England) audio
- /ˈɔbəlɪsk/ (Australia, British, Scotland, Southern, Standard)
- /ˈɒbəlɪsk/ (Received-Pronunciation)
Etymology
From Middle French obelisque, from Latin obeliscus (“obelisk”), from Ancient Greek ὀβελίσκος (obelískos), diminutive of ὀβελός (obelós, “needle”). Compare obelus.
Meanings
-
A tall, square, tapered, stone monolith topped with a pyramidal point, frequently used as a monument.
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.
2012 January, Henry Petroski, “The Washington Monument”, in American Scientist, volume 100, number 1, page 16:"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.
1992, Neal Stephenson, Snow Crash, page 200:
- (historical) Synonym of obelus. ▸ 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.
- Synonym of obelus. ▸ 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 RNA structure similar to a viroid, with a rod-like secondary structure, which comprises its own phylogenetic group.
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| obelisc | alternative | lexicographic | |
| obelisks | Number=Plur | lexicographic |
Deriveds
obeliscoid · oblin · obeliscal · obelisklike · obeliskoid · obeliskine
Hypernyms
Meronyms
Relateds
Synonyms
Translations (62)
ro obelisc (tall, square, tapered, stone monolith topped with a pyramidal point) · fa ابلیسک (tall, square, tapered, stone monolith topped with a pyramidal point) · eo obelisko (tall, square, tapered, stone monolith topped with a pyramidal point) · fr obèle (dagger symbol — see also dagger) · ka ობელისკი (tall, square, tapered, stone monolith topped with a pyramidal point) · lv obelisks (tall, square, tapered, stone monolith topped with a pyramidal point) · ja オベリスク (tall, square, tapered, stone monolith topped with a pyramidal point) · hy կոթող (tall, square, tapered, stone monolith topped with a pyramidal point) · ca obelisc (tall, square, tapered, stone monolith topped with a pyramidal point) · uz obelisk (tall, square, tapered, stone monolith topped with a pyramidal point) · la obeliscus (dagger symbol — see also dagger) · sh обѐлиск (tall, square, tapered, stone monolith topped with a pyramidal point) · az obelisk (tall, square, tapered, stone monolith topped with a pyramidal point) · es obelisco (tall, square, tapered, stone monolith topped with a pyramidal point) · vi tượng đài (tall, square, tapered, stone monolith topped with a pyramidal point) · kk обелиск (tall, square, tapered, stone monolith topped with a pyramidal point) · ar مِسَلَّة (tall, square, tapered, stone monolith topped with a pyramidal point) · tl obelisko (tall, square, tapered, stone monolith topped with a pyramidal point) · sl obelísk (tall, square, tapered, stone monolith topped with a pyramidal point) · el οβελίσκος (tall, square, tapered, stone monolith topped with a pyramidal point) · tr dikili taş (tall, square, tapered, stone monolith topped with a pyramidal point) · ky обелиск (tall, square, tapered, stone monolith topped with a pyramidal point) · cs obelisk (tall, square, tapered, stone monolith topped with a pyramidal point) · pt obelisco (tall, square, tapered, stone monolith topped with a pyramidal point) · gl obelisco (tall, square, tapered, stone monolith topped with a pyramidal point) · da obelisk (tall, square, tapered, stone monolith topped with a pyramidal point) · hi शिलास्तंभ (tall, square, tapered, stone monolith topped with a pyramidal point) · nb obelisk (tall, square, tapered, stone monolith topped with a pyramidal point) · ga oibilisc (tall, square, tapered, stone monolith topped with a pyramidal point) · pl obelisk (tall, square, tapered, stone monolith topped with a pyramidal point) · ko 오벨리스크 (tall, square, tapered, stone monolith topped with a pyramidal point) · tr dikilitaş (tall, square, tapered, stone monolith topped with a pyramidal point) · ko 방첨탑 (tall, square, tapered, stone monolith topped with a pyramidal point) · mk обелиск (tall, square, tapered, stone monolith topped with a pyramidal point) · ja 方尖柱 (tall, square, tapered, stone monolith topped with a pyramidal point) · tg обелиск (tall, square, tapered, stone monolith topped with a pyramidal point) · de Obelisk (tall, square, tapered, stone monolith topped with a pyramidal point) · sq obelisk (tall, square, tapered, stone monolith topped with a pyramidal point) · sv obelisk (tall, square, tapered, stone monolith topped with a pyramidal point) · sh obèlisk (tall, square, tapered, stone monolith topped with a pyramidal point) · my ကျောက်စာတိုင် (tall, square, tapered, stone monolith topped with a pyramidal point) · hu obeliszk (tall, square, tapered, stone monolith topped with a pyramidal point) · fi obeliski (tall, square, tapered, stone monolith topped with a pyramidal point) · cmn 方尖碑 (tall, square, tapered, stone monolith topped with a pyramidal point) · egy t*x:n-O25 (tall, square, tapered, stone monolith topped with a pyramidal point) · be абелі́ск (tall, square, tapered, stone monolith topped with a pyramidal point) · ru обели́ск (tall, square, tapered, stone monolith topped with a pyramidal point) · he אוֹבֶּלִיסְק (tall, square, tapered, stone monolith topped with a pyramidal point) · tr obelisk (tall, square, tapered, stone monolith topped with a pyramidal point) · el οβελίσκος (dagger symbol — see also dagger) · bg обели́ск (tall, square, tapered, stone monolith topped with a pyramidal point) · fr obélisque (tall, square, tapered, stone monolith topped with a pyramidal point) · sv kors (dagger symbol — see also dagger) · ga miodóg (dagger symbol — see also dagger) · nl obelisk (tall, square, tapered, stone monolith topped with a pyramidal point) · de Kreuz (dagger symbol — see also dagger) · la obeliscus (tall, square, tapered, stone monolith topped with a pyramidal point) · sk obelisk (tall, square, tapered, stone monolith topped with a pyramidal point) · et obelisk (tall, square, tapered, stone monolith topped with a pyramidal point) · it obelisco (tall, square, tapered, stone monolith topped with a pyramidal point) · lt obeliskas (tall, square, tapered, stone monolith topped with a pyramidal point) · uk обелі́ск (tall, square, tapered, stone monolith topped with a pyramidal point)
wikipedia: Thutmose III · wikipedia: Obelisk of Theodosius · wikipedia: Hippodrome of Constantinople · wikipedia: Theodosius I