obelisc

Noun

obelisk (plural obelisks)

1. A tall, square, tapered, stone monolith topped with a pyramidal point, frequently used as a monument.
   • "The clay envelope is Sumerian. It is from the third millennium B.C. It was dug up from the city of Eridu is southern Iraq. The black stele or obelisk is the Code of Hammurabi, which dates from about 1750 B.C.1992, Neal Stephenson, Snow Crash, page 200
2. (historical) 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.
3. 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.
4. An RNA structure similar to a viroid, with a rod-like secondary structure, which comprises its own phylogenetic group.

See all 5 meanings of obelisk