obelus

Noun

A dagger-shaped symbol used to mark doubtful passages in texts.
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.

Examples

The referee placed an OBELUS next to the challenged word, signifying its invalidity.

Origin / Etymology

From Middle English obelus, obelo, from Old English obelus, from Late Latin obelus (“critical mark”), from Koine Greek ὀβελός (obelós, “critical mark”), Ancient Greek ὀβελός (obelós, “rod, spit; obelisk; critical mark”). The further etymology is uncertain; a derivation from βέλος (bélos, “arrow, dart, missile”) (from Proto-Indo-European *gʷelH- (“to pierce; to reach; to throw; to hit by throwing”)) has been suggested, but the initial vowel remains unexplained. Compare obelisk.
The plural form obeli is derived from Late Latin obeli, from Ancient Greek ὀβελοί (obeloí).

Scrabble Score: 8

obelus: valid Scrabble (US) TWL Word
obelus: valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
obelus: valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary

Words With Friends Score: 11

obelus: valid Words With Friends Word