obelus

American  

[ob-uh-luhs] / ˈɒb ə ləs /

noun

plural

obeli

1. a mark (− or ÷) used in ancient manuscripts to point out spurious, corrupt, doubtful, or superfluous words or passages.

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obelus British  

/ ˈɒbɪləs /

noun

1. a mark (— or ÷) used in editions of ancient documents to indicate spurious words or passages

2. another name for dagger

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Etymology

Origin of obelus

1350–1400; Middle English < Late Latin < Greek obelós spit, pointed pillar

Explanation

In math, an obelus is a symbol that means "divided by," while in an ancient text it's an editorial mark on a line or word that is incorrect or doubtful. An obelus typically looks like this: ÷, a horizontal line with dots above and below. It's familiar to anyone who's done arithmetic problems such as 12÷3=X. The original obelus conveyed "remove or cut this" in a text, with just a line symbolizing a dart or dagger. The two dots appeared later, as did a dagger-shaped version that's often added beside a person's name to mean "deceased." The word itself has a Greek root meaning "sharpened stick."

Example Sentences

One way is to interpret the obelus, or ÷ symbol, as dividing everything to the left of it by to the right of it.

From Slate • Mar. 12, 2013

The purpose of the doubly pointed obelus is plainly indicated here, as it accompanies two of these catchwords.

From A Sixth-Century Fragment of the Letters of Pliny the Younger A Study of Six Leaves of an Uncial Manuscript Preserved in the Pierpont Morgan Library New York by Lowe, E. A. (Elias Avery)

Thus at the end of the first letter of Book III we find a doubly pointed obelus opposite an interesting passage, the text of which shows no variants or editorial questionings.

From A Sixth-Century Fragment of the Letters of Pliny the Younger A Study of Six Leaves of an Uncial Manuscript Preserved in the Pierpont Morgan Library New York by Lowe, E. A. (Elias Avery)

Maximus est obelus circus quem maximus olim Condidit et Sixtus maximus inde trahit.

From The Care of Books by Clark, John Willis

The passage is noted by an asterisk or obelus or other mark in Codd.

From A Plain Introduction to the Criticism of the New Testament, Vol. II. by Scrivener, Frederick Henry Ambrose