Random word

Obelus is an English word. Below you'll find 3 example sentences showing how it's used in practice.

Rare word

Obelus in a sentence

Obelus meaning

  1. 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; an obelisk.
  2. 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 obelisk.

Using Obelus

  • The main meaning on this page is: 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; an obelisk. | 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 obelisk.
  • In the example corpus, obelus often appears in combinations such as: the obelus.

Context around Obelus

  • Average sentence length in these examples: 24.7 words
  • Position in the sentence: 2 start, 1 middle, 0 end
  • Sentence types: 3 statements, 0 questions, 0 exclamations

Often after:

accompanied 1×

Sentence patterns with Obelus

These short patterns come directly from the example sentences and show how the word is often embedded:

for an obelus but only 1× the obelus accompanied by 1× the obelus is believed 1×

Sentence openings and endings

Common sentence openings:

st jerome c 1× the obelus accompanied 1× the obelus is 1×

Common sentence endings:

markings of manuscripts 1× of editorial symbols 1× the old testament 1×

Words around Obelus

Just before it in the word index:

obelix 13 obelisks 9 obelisk 58 obel 2 obeisance 35 obeikan 2

Just after it in the word index:

obembe 3 oben 2 obenauer 2 obeng 31 obengfo 2 ober 28

Similar in corpus frequency:

aabc 5 aacr 5 aacsb 5 aadar 5 aadk 5 aadvantage 5

Corpus analysis for Obelus

  • In this selection, "obelus" usually appears near the start of the sentence. The average example has 24.7 words, and this corpus slice is mostly made up of statements.
  • Around the word, accompanied stand out and add context to how "obelus" is used.
  • Recognizable usage signals include for an obelus but only and the obelus accompanied by. That gives this page its own corpus information beyond isolated example sentences.
  • By corpus frequency, "obelus" sits close to words such as aabc, aacr and aacsb, which helps place it inside the broader word index.

Example types with obelus

The same corpus examples are grouped by length and sentence type, making it easier to see the contexts in which the word appears:

Short example sentences

St. Jerome (c. 347 – 420) used a simple horizontal slash for an obelus, but only for passages in the Old Testament. (21 words)

The obelus is believed to have been invented by the Homeric scholar Zenodotus as one of a system of editorial symbols. (21 words)

The obelus accompanied by points is used when we do not know whether a passage should be suppressed or not." citation Medieval scribes used the symbols extensively for critical markings of manuscripts. (32 words)

Longer example sentences

The obelus accompanied by points is used when we do not know whether a passage should be suppressed or not." citation Medieval scribes used the symbols extensively for critical markings of manuscripts. (32 words)

St. Jerome (c. 347 – 420) used a simple horizontal slash for an obelus, but only for passages in the Old Testament. (21 words)

The obelus is believed to have been invented by the Homeric scholar Zenodotus as one of a system of editorial symbols. (21 words)

Example sentences (3)

St. Jerome (c. 347 – 420) used a simple horizontal slash for an obelus, but only for passages in the Old Testament.

The obelus accompanied by points is used when we do not know whether a passage should be suppressed or not." citation Medieval scribes used the symbols extensively for critical markings of manuscripts.

The obelus is believed to have been invented by the Homeric scholar Zenodotus as one of a system of editorial symbols.

Common combinations with obelus

These word pairs occur most frequently in English texts:

Frequently asked questions

How do you use "obelus" in a sentence?
An example: "St. Jerome (c. 347 – 420) used a simple horizontal slash for an obelus, but only for passages in the Old Testament." This page contains 3 example sentences with the word "obelus" from authentic English texts.
What does "obelus" mean?
Obelus means: 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; an obelisk.
How many example sentences with "obelus" are there?
Voorbeeldzinnen.info contains 3 example sentences with "obelus", drawn from a database of millions of English sentences.