Obelisk
['ɒb(ə)lɪsk] or ['ɑbə'lɪsk]
Definition
(noun.) a stone pillar having a rectangular cross section tapering towards a pyramidal top.
Checker: Lucy--From WordNet
Definition
(n.) An upright, four-sided pillar, gradually tapering as it rises, and terminating in a pyramid called pyramidion. It is ordinarily monolithic. Egyptian obelisks are commonly covered with hieroglyphic writing from top to bottom.
(n.) A mark of reference; -- called also dagger [/]. See Dagger, n., 2.
(v. t.) To mark or designate with an obelisk.
Checked by Cordelia
Synonyms and Synonymous
n. [1]. Pillar.[2]. Dagger (in printing).
Checker: Roderick
Definition
n. a tall four-sided tapering pillar usually of one stone finished at the top like a flat pyramid: (print.) a dagger ( † ).—adj. Ob′eliscal.—v.t. Ob′elise to mark with an obelisk to condemn as spurious indelicate &c.—n. Ob′elus a mark ( — or ?nbsp;) used in ancient MSS. to mark suspected passages esp. in the Septuagint to indicate passages not in the Hebrew:—pl. Ob′eli.
Inputed by Lawrence
Unserious Contents or Definition
An obelisk looming up stately and cold in your dreams is the forerunner of melancholy tidings. For lovers to stand at the base of an obelisk, denotes fatal disagreements.
Checked by Cathy
Examples
- The fountain sparkled in the sun; the obelisk above pierced the clear dark-blue air. Mary Shelley. The Last Man.
- Then an Egyptian obelisk. Mark Twain. The Innocents Abroad.
- Their residences are usually on the outskirts of 'the Rules,' chiefly lying within a circle of one mile from the obelisk in St. George's Fields. Charles Dickens. The Pickwick Papers.
- They were expert builders, and possessed the engineering skill to erect obelisks weighing hundreds of tons. Walter Libby. An Introduction to the History of Science.
Typed by Eugenia