obol

[ob-uhl]

noun

1. a silver coin of ancient Greece, the sixth part of a drachma.

2. obole.

Word History and Origins

Origin of obol¹

First recorded in 1660–70; obolus

Example Sentences

The tomb was respectfully furnished with worldly goods such as baskets, perfume bottles, clothing, ceramic urns, vessels containing grains and nuts, and Charon’s obol, a coin placed in the mouth or near the body of the dead to ensure safe passage to the Underworld.

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Charon’s obol is a term for a coin, typically placed in the mouth of a dead person before burial.

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Were the Ptolemies in essence colonial occupiers and exploiters, bent on wringing the last drachma and obol from a captive land regardless of the consequences?

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And whether the country’s currency is the euro, the drachma or, as it was in the days before Christ, the obol, this is the way it has always been.

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He'll ask no obol, but instal you there On Styx's further bank without a fare.

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