obol

views updated Jun 08 2018

obol an ancient Greek coin worth one sixth of a drachma, traditionally the coin placed in the mouth of the dead as a fee for Charon to ferry them across the Styx. The word originally meant ‘spit’ or ‘nail’, and came to be used for a type of coin as in early times nails were used as money.

The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable ELIZABETH KNOWLES

obol

views updated May 23 2018

obol coin of ancient Greece. XVII. — L. obolus — Gr. obolós, var. of obelós OBELISK.

The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology T. F. HOAD

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