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obelisk \ ˈä-bə-ˌlisk also ˈō- \ noun

1. a stone pillar having a rectangular cross section tapering to a pyramidal top 2. a character used in printing to indicate a cross reference or footnote

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The word obelisk has appeared in 30 articles on nytimes.com in the past year, including on Nov. 17 in the Sporting column “The Secret to a Long Life Is Bocce” by William Giraldi: