Meanings
plural obeliscolychnies
- rareA lighthouse.
“I see a great number of People on the Harbour; I see a Light on an Obeliscolychny.”
1694, François Rabelais, translated by PA Motteux, Pantagruel, page 1191 more example
Who has lit the sun and the moon like two lamps, that they might shine in the distance on the two mountains on the two sides of the castle, comparable to two obeliscolychnies?
1993, Alfred Jarry, translated by Iain White, Visits of Love, page 85
Synonyms & antonyms
Origin
- Ancient Greekὀβελισκολύχνιον“spit used as a lamp-holder”
- Middle Frenchobeliscolychnie
- Englishobeliscolychny
From Middle French obeliscolychnie (in Rabelais), from Ancient Greek ὀβελισκολύχνιον (obeliskolúkhnion, “spit used as a lamp-holder”), from ὀβελίσκος (obelískos, “obelisk”) + λυχνίον (lukhníon, “lamp-stand”).
More words from Middle French, Ancient Greek
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
obeliscolychny. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/obeliscolychny
“obeliscolychny.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/obeliscolychny. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “obeliscolychny,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/obeliscolychny.
Source: obeliscolychny on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.