Obolus

[ˈoːbolʊs]

/[ˈoːbolʊs]/ noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

The verdict

“Obolus” is uncommon German (frequency #92,033 among 1,007 “O” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#92,033
frequency rank, German
1,007
“O” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - kleine Münze im alten Griechenland

Corpus desk

Index DE-obolus · Obolus · German

Obolus · rank #92,033 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #92,033
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 1,007
  • PHOTO-FINISH objektorienti…

Nearest frequency peer: objektorientierte (-1 rank slots)

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Langschwanz-Ränge nahe „Obolus“

Dünnes Band: Balken invertieren den Rang, seltenere Formen wirken kürzer

corpus weight

What this shows Langschwanz-Sicht: wo „Obolus“ gegen ähnlich seltene deutsche Ränge sitzt.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for Obolus
PropertyValue
HeadwordObolus
LanguageGerman
Part of speechNoun
IPA[ˈoːbolʊs]
Letters6
Frequency rank#92,033
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Langschwanz-Rang von „Obolus“ im Deutschen

Diese Skala geht vom Kern des Alltagdeutschen (links) bis zum seltenen Langschwanz (rechts).Obolusfällt in diesen Seltenheitsbereich:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Die Skala ist logarithmisch (jeder Tick ≈ 10× seltener). Seltene Nachbarn derselben Bandbreite: „objektorientierte“ (#92,032), „Objektivs“ (#92,031), „offices“ (#92,035). Unter 1,007 „O“-Lemmata liegt „Obolus“ bei #92,033. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

Obolus is uncommon German at frequency #92,033 among 1,007 “O” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed [ˈoːbolʊs]. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

No generated misspelling entries exist for Obolus in our index, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.

This headword's origin isn't recorded in our source data, leaving phoneme-to-grapheme mapping as the best guide to its spelling rather than a borrowing history. The correct German form is Obolus, spelled O-B-O-L-U-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    kleine Münze im alten Griechenland
  2. 2
    kleine Geldspende, kleiner finanzieller Beitrag

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how Obolus appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Jedem toten Griechen wurde ein Obolus unter die Zunge gelegt.
  2. (hyperkorrekte „lateinische“ Pluralform) Die älteste Silbermünze, welche hier bekannt ist, war der halbe Denar, 15 Oboli enthaltend; auf der einen Seite ist ein Christuskopf mit der Inschrift: „ Iesus Christus" in gothischen Buchstaben, […]

Synonyms

BeitragSpendeScherflein

Antonyms

Drachme

This word in other languages

obol(English)obole(Français)

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 German corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "Obolus"?
"Obolus" is spelled O-B-O-L-U-S. The IPA pronunciation is [ˈoːbolʊs].
What does "Obolus" mean?
As a noun, "Obolus" means: kleine Münze im alten Griechenland
How do you pronounce "Obolus"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "Obolus" is [ˈoːbolʊs]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "Obolus" come from?
"Obolus" is a German word. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for this and other words across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German on PlainSpell.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar German words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "Obolus", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked German headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

nährte#92,026panier#92,048Nitrit#92,013plagte#92,067

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list