Content deleted Content added
→Typing the character: @ corrected to & in HTML |
|||
| (33 intermediate revisions by 21 users not shown) | |||
Line 1:
{{Short description|Symbol († ‡) for footnotes, etc.}}
{{Redirect|Double dagger}}
{{Redirect-distinguish|‡|ǂ|≠|キ|Half sharp}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2023}}
{{special characters}}▼
{{Infobox symbol
|mark=† ‡ ⸸
|name=Dagger
|other_names= obelisk, obelus
|unicode={{unichar|2020|dagger|html=}}
|see also={{unichar|2E4B|triple dagger}}
|different from = {{unichar|271D|nlink=Latin cross
}}
A '''dagger''', '''obelisk''', or '''obelus''' {{char|†}} is a [[glyph|typographical mark]] that usually indicates a [[footnote]] if an [[asterisk]] has already been used.<ref name="partridge" />
A '''double dagger''', or '''diesis''', {{char|‡}} is a variant with two
==History==
[[File:Obelus variants.svg|thumb|Three variants of obelus glyphs]]
The dagger symbol originated from a variant of the [[obelus]], originally depicted by a plain line {{char|−}} or a line with one or two dots {{char|÷}}.<ref name="merriamw">{{cite book |title
▲The dagger symbol originated from a variant of the [[obelus]], originally depicted by a plain line {{char|−}} or a line with one or two dots {{char|÷}}.<ref name="merriamw">{{cite book|title =Merriam-Webster's collegiate dictionary|publisher =Merriam-Webster, Inc|year =2003|page=[https://archive.org/details/merriamwebstersc00merr_6/page/855 855]|isbn =978-0-87779-809-5|url =https://archive.org/details/merriamwebstersc00merr_6|url-access =registration|quote =obelos.}}</ref> It represented an iron roasting spit, a dart, or the sharp end of a [[javelin]],<ref name="ainsw">{{cite book|editor=William Harrison Ainsworth|title =The New monthly magazine|publisher =Chapman and Hall|volume=125|year =1862|page=1|url =https://books.google.com/books?id=PycaAQAAIAAJ&q=obelos&pg=PA1}}</ref> symbolizing the skewering or cutting out of dubious matter.<ref name="scanlin"/><ref name="enc"/><ref name="hamann"/>
The obelus is believed to have been invented by the [[Homeric scholarship|Homeric scholar]] [[Zenodotus]] as one of a system of editorial symbols. They marked questionable or corrupt words or passages in manuscripts of the [[Homeric epics]].<ref name="Oxford" /><ref name="scanlin">{{cite book |
While the asterisk (''asteriscus'') was used for corrective additions, the obelus was used for corrective deletions of invalid reconstructions.<ref name="BHS">{{cite book |title
It was used much in the same way by later scholars to mark differences between various translations or versions of the [[Bible]] and other manuscripts.<ref name="garrison">{{cite book |
[[Isidore of Seville]] (c. 560–636) described the use of the symbol as follows: "The obelus is appended to words or phrases uselessly repeated, or else where the passage involves a false reading, so that, like the arrow, it lays low the superfluous and makes the errors disappear ... The obelus accompanied by points is used when we do not know whether a passage should be suppressed or not."<ref name="enc">{{cite book |
Medieval scribes used the symbols extensively for critical markings of manuscripts. In addition to this, the dagger was also used in notations in early [[Christianity]], to indicate a minor intermediate pause in the [[chanting]] of [[Psalms]], equivalent to the [[quaver rest]] notation or the trope symbol in [[Hebrew cantillation]]. It also indicates a breath mark when reciting, along with the asterisk, and is thus frequently seen beside a [[comma]].<ref name="fenlon">{{cite book |editor-first=
In the 16th century, the printer and scholar [[Robert Estienne]] (also known as Stephanus in [[Latin]] and Stephens in English) used it to mark differences in the words or passages between different printed versions of the Greek [[New Testament]]
Due to the variations as to the different uses of the different forms of the obelus, there is some controversy as to which symbols can actually be considered an obelus. The {{char|⨪}} symbol and its variant, the {{char|÷}}, is sometimes considered to be different from other obeli. The term 'obelus' may have referred strictly only to the horizontal slash and the dagger symbols.{{cn|date=January 2023}}
== Modern usage ==
The dagger usually indicates a [[footnote]] if an asterisk has already been used.<ref name="partridge" /> A third footnote employs the double dagger.<ref name="H&F">{{cite web |url= http://www.typography.com/ask/showBlog.php?blogID=190 |
The dagger is also used to indicate [[death]],<ref name="H&F" /><ref name="reynolds" /> [[extinction]],<ref name="tudge" /> or [[obsolescence]].<ref name="partridge">{{cite book |author-link=Eric Partridge |first=Eric |last=Partridge |title
*The asteroid [[37 Fides]], the last asteroid to be assigned an [[Astronomical symbols|astronomical symbol]] before the practice faded, was assigned the dagger.
*In [[Anglican chant]] pointing, the dagger indicates a verse to be sung to the second part of the chant.
*In some early printed [[Bible translations]], a dagger or double dagger indicates that a literal translation of a word or phrase is to be found in the margin.
*In [[biology]], the dagger next to a taxon name indicates that the [[taxon]] is [[Extinction|extinct]].<ref name="reynolds">{{cite book |
*In library [[Cataloging (library science)|cataloging]], a double dagger delimits [[MARC standards|MARC]] subfields.
*In [[chess notation]], the dagger may be suffixed to a move to signify the move resulted in a check, and a double dagger denotes checkmate. This is a stylistic variation on the more common {{char|+}} ([[plus sign]]) for a check and {{char|#}} ([[number sign]]) for checkmate.
*In [[chemistry]], the double dagger is used in chemical kinetics to indicate a [[transition state]] species.
*On a [[cricket]] scorecard or team list, the dagger indicates the team's [[wicket-keeper]].<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.espncricinfo.com/wc2007/engine/match/247499.html |title=Cricket Scorecard: 43rd Match, Super Eights: Australia v Sri Lanka at St George's |date=
*In [[genealogy]], the dagger is used traditionally to mark a death in genealogical records.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Jones |first1=Tamura |title=Genealogy Symbols |url= https://www.tamurajones.net/GenealogySymbols.xhtml |website=Modern Software Experience |access-date=7 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220307160900/http://web.archive.org/screenshot/https://www.tamurajones.net/GenealogySymbols.xhtml |archive-date=7 March 2022}}</ref>
*In [[linguistics]], the dagger placed after a language name indicates an extinct language.
*Some [[logic]]ians use the dagger as an affirmation ('it is true that ...') operator.<ref>{{Cite journal| last=Beall |first=Jc<!--Not a typo. This writer's name is always credited as "Jc Beall" for some reason.--> |title=Christ:
*The [[palochka]] is transliterated to a double dagger
*In psychological statistics the dagger indicates that a difference between two figures is not [[Statistical significance|significant]] to a ''p''<0.05 level, however is still considered a "trend" or worthy of note. Commonly this will be used for a p-value between 0.1 and 0.05.
*In [[mathematics]] and, more often, [[physics]], a dagger denotes the [[Hermitian adjoint]] of an operator; for example, ''A''<sup>†</sup> denotes the adjoint of ''A''.
*In [[philology]], the dagger indicates an obsolete form of a word or phrase.<ref name="partridge" /> As language that has become obsolete in everyday use tends to live on elsewhere, the dagger can indicate language only occurring in poetical texts<ref>{{Cite book| first=John R. Clark | last=Hall | author-link=John Richard Clark Hall | title=A Concise Anglo-Saxon Dictionary for the Use of Students | edition=2nd | location=New York | publisher=Macmillan | year=1916 | pages=vi, vii | url=https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/31543/pg31543-images.html | via=Project Gutenberg}}</ref> or "restricted to an archaic, literary style".<ref>{{Cite book | first=Michael Alan | last=Jones | title=Foundations of French Syntax | series=Cambridge Textbooks in Linguistics | location=Cambridge | publisher=Cambridge University Press | year=1996 | isbn=0-521-38104-5 | page=xxv}}</ref>
*In [[textual criticism]] and in some editions of works written before the invention of printing, daggers enclose text that is believed not to be original.<ref name="wegner" />
{{clear left}}
[[Image:Daggers.svg|left|thumb|600px|Dagger and double-dagger symbols in a variety of [[font]]s, showing the differences between stylized and non-stylized characters. Fonts from left to right: [[DejaVu Sans]], [[Times New Roman]], [[LTC Remington Typewriter]], [[Garamond]], and [[Old English Text MT]]]]
{{clear left}}
While daggers are freely used in English-language texts, they are often avoided in other languages because of their similarity to the Christian cross.
==Encoding==
*{{unichar|2020|DAGGER}}
*{{unichar|2021|DOUBLE DAGGER}}
*{{unichar|2E36|DAGGER WITH LEFT GUARD}} – used in [[Alexander John Ellis]]'s "palaeotype" transliteration to indicate retracted pronunciation<ref name="L209425">{{Cite web |url= https://www.unicode.org/L2/L2009/09425-n3740-turnedpunct.pdf |title=L2/09-425: Proposal to encode six punctuation characters in the UCS |date=5 December 2009
*{{unichar|2E37|DAGGER WITH RIGHT GUARD}} – used in Alexander John Ellis's "palaeotype" transliteration to indicate advanced pronunciation<ref name="L209425" />
*{{unichar|2E38|TURNED DAGGER}} – used in Alexander John Ellis's "palaeotype" transliteration to indicate retroflex pronunciation<ref name="L209425" />
*{{unichar|2E4B|TRIPLE DAGGER}} – A variant with three handles.<ref name="L215327" />[[File:Triple Dagger.png|thumb|A variant with three handles|50px]]
== Typing the character ==
Line 80 ⟶ 78:
Double dagger:
* In HTML: {{code|&ddagger
* Windows: {{keypress|Alt|0}}{{keypress|1|3|5|chain=}}
* MacOS: {{keypress|Option|Shift|7
* Linux: {{keypress|Shift|Ctrl|U}}{{keypress|2|0|2|1|Enter|chain=}}
Line 95 ⟶ 93:
* {{Annotated link |Textual criticism}}
{{Clear}}
==Notes==
{{notelist}}
==References==
| |||