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Webster 1913 Edition

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(ŏb′ĕ-lŭs)

Noun.

;

pl.

Obeli

(ŏb′ĕ-lī)

[L., fr. Gr.

ὀβελός

, prop., a spit.]

(Print.)

A mark [thus —, or ÷]; – so called as resembling a needle. In old MSS. or editions of the classics, it marks suspected passages or readings.

obelus ‎(plural obeluses or obeli)

A mark (÷) used to represent division in mathematics. Also used to indicate a written or printed passage, and in ancient manuscripts to mark a word or passage as spurious or doubtful.
A dagger mark (†) used as a reference mark in printed matter, or to indicate that a person is deceased, often used to indicate a footnote.