obolus

[ ob-uh-luhs ]

/ ˈɒb ə ləs /

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noun, plural ob·o·li

[ob-uh-lahy]. /ˈɒb əˌlaɪ/.

a modern Greek unit of weight equal to 0.1 gram.

obole.

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Origin of obolus

1350–1400; Middle English <Latin <Greek obolós small coin, weight

Words nearby obolus

oboe d'amore, oboe d'amour, oboist, obol, obole, obolus, Obote, obovate, obovoid, O'Boyle, obpyriform

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use obolus in a sentence

No spirit is allowed to enter the leaky craft until he has first paid Charon the fee of a small coin called the obolus.
Stories of Old Greece and Rome|Emilie Kip Baker
The familiar figure of Belisarius begging an obolus is scarce more painful.
The Great North Road: London to York|Charles G. Harper
What internal evidence does the Odyssey afford, that Homer sold his Trojan war-ballads at three yards an obolus?
The Further Adventures of Mr. Verdant Green, an Oxford Under-Graduate|Cuthbert Bede
The story says he fastened a label to his hat, containing these words, "Give an obolus to poor old Belisarius."
Character Sketches of Romance, Fiction and the Drama, Vol 1|The Rev. E. Cobham Brewer, LL.D.

Formerly my sickles would not have sold at an obolus apiece; to-day I am being paid fifty drachmae for every one.
Peace|Aristophanes

British Dictionary definitions for obolus

obolus

obol (ˈɒbɒl)

/ (ˈɒbələs) /

noun plural -li (-ˌlaɪ) or -ols

a modern Greek unit of weight equal to one tenth of a gram

a silver coin of ancient Greece worth one sixth of a drachma

Word Origin for obolus

C16: via Latin from Greek obolos small coin, nail; related to obelos spit, variant of obelus

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012