Dele

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A dele or deleatur^{[citation needed]} (/ˈdiːliː/, /ˌdiːliːˈeɪtər/) is an obelism (a proofreading symbol) used to mark something for deletion.

Name

Dele is the more common term in modern American English, sometimes used as a verb, as in "Dele that graf"), coinciding with the imperative form of the Latin delere ("to delete").^{[citation needed]}

The Oxford English Dictionary notes an earlier use in English of deleatur (Latin "let it be deleted"), suggesting that dele in English might have been an abbreviation for the longer word.^{[citation needed]}

Origin

The origin of the symbol appears to be an archaic letter D in the Kurrent script, as an abbreviation for dele or deleatur.^{[citation needed]}

The symbol is markedly similar (if not identical in some cases) to the symbol for the German penny (), which is an archaic lowercase d, for denarius. As with most hand-written letters and symbols, its appearance is variable.^{[citation needed]}

A different theory states simply that it is "a form of 'd' meaning 'delete'".^{[clarification needed]}

Computer representation

Version 15.0, from September 2022, of Unicode has no character for the dele symbol.^{[needs update]}

In 2021, a proposal was submitted (number "L2/21-230") for the addition of the dele symbol to Unicode. The same proposal was resubmitted (number "L2/21-245") a month later with an expanded description to emphasize its usage with other Unicode signs.

Usage

The dele is used in proofreading and copy editing, where it can be written over the selected text itself (such that it often resembles a stretched cursive e), or else in the margin alongside the selected text, which is usually struck through with a line.^{[citation needed]}

The stricken text or the dele itself can be framed by top and bottom curved brackets, as in the above example, to indicate that the space left after deletion is to be closed up. As the need for such closing up can usually be inferred from the context, however, the brackets are often omitted.^{[citation needed]}

A dele can be undone with a stet.^{[citation needed]}

Symbols similar in appearance

In some of its forms, the dele is similar in appearance to:^{[citation needed]}

• The German penny symbol, ₰
• The flourish of approval

In the form "used by ISO and BS", the dele is somewhat similar in appearance to the percent sign, but missing its lower bulb.^{[citation needed]}

In a third form, the dele is similar in appearance to the unrelated characters U+0264 ɤ LATIN SMALL LETTER RAMS HORN, U+27B0 ➰︎ CURLY LOOP, U+0AEA ૪ GUJARATI DIGIT FOUR, U+0263 ɣ LATIN SMALL LETTER GAMMA.^{[citation needed]}

In another form, the dele resembles somewhat a hollow U+266A ♪ EIGHTH NOTE, or perhaps an ornate, calligraphic lowercase letter d.^{[citation needed]}

Additional forms can be noted that are even harder to characterize.^{[clarification needed]}

See also

List of proofreader's marks

References

Bibliography

External links

• List of proofreading marks