obelisk
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Written by a house AI from the entry below, in your language. The entry itself is the source.
obelisk
- /ˈɒbəlɪsk/ UK
- /ˈɔbəlɪsk/ Australia, British, Scotland
- /ˈɑbəlɪsk/ US
- /ˈɔbəlɪsk/ US
- /ˈɑbəlɪsk/ US, cot caught merger
Where it comes from
From Middle French obelisque, from Latin obeliscus (“obelisk”), from Ancient Greek ὀβελίσκος (obelískos), diminutive of ὀβελός (obelós, “needle”). Compare obelus.
noun obelisks · obelisc
- A tall, square, tapered, stone monolith topped with a pyramidal point, frequently used as a monument. "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.
- 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.
- 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.
verb obelisks · obelisking · obelisked
- To adopt the obelisk posture; to point the tip of the abdomen towards the sun. 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[…]
Thesaurus
Translations
Every language
noun tall, square, tapered, stone monolith topped with a pyramidal point
| Español | obelisco |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 오벨리스크 obelliseukeu, 방첨탑 bangcheomtap |
| 日本語 | オベリスク oberisuku, 方尖柱 hōsenchū |
| 中文 | 方尖碑 fāngjiānbēi |
| हिन्दी | शिलास्तंभ śilāstambh |
| Português | obelisco |
| Français | obélisque |
| Deutsch | Obelisk |
| Italiano | obelisco |
| Ελληνικά | οβελίσκος ovelískos |
| Română | obelisc |
| Русский | обели́ск obelísk |
| Tiếng Việt | tượng đài |
| العربية | مِسَلَّة misalla |
| עברית | אוֹבֶּלִיסְק obelísk |
Talk about this word "obelisk." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/obelisk. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. obelisk. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/obelisk "obelisk." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/obelisk.Cite this
@misc{obelisk_2026,
title = {obelisk},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/obelisk},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
