deleaturn.
/ˌdiːlɪˈeɪtə/, U.S. /ˌdiliˈeɪdər/ An instruction or symbol (usually written as ?) used on a page of text to indicate a part which should be deleted; an instance of the use of this instruction. Also (and in earliest use) figurative.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > memory > effacement, obliteration > [noun] > things to be deleted > instruction to delete
deleatur1590
dele1640
1590 R. Harvey Theol. Disc. Lamb of God 143 If their Deleatur begin at thy house, where shall the vngodly and sinners appeare?
1640 E. Dering Coll. Speeches on Relig. 23 Nov. (1642) iii. 7 The most learned labours of our..Divines, must bee..defaced with a Deleatur.
1731 J. Rigby Insolence Rebuk'd 88 Is there not a Deleatur upon the following Word and Sentence in Gregory Nyssene?
1996 G. Pontiero tr. J. Saramago Hist. Siege of Lisbon (1998) 14 The proofreader..inserts a deleatur or introduces a comma where required.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2020; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
† deleaturv.
Obsolete.
intransitive. ‘Let it be deleted’: used as an instruction to indicate that a word, sentence, etc., should be deleted from a page or text.
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1602 R. Parsons Warn-word ii. ix. f. 70v We peruert..the ancient Fathers with the censure of deleatur when any sentence lyketh vs not.
1607 T. Rogers Faith, Doctr., & Relig. 120 They thinke it to be vnsound doctrine, and not sufferable in any booke... Therefore deleatur say they: Blot out such doctrine.
1696 J. Evelyn Let. 28 Oct. in Diary & Corr. (1857) III. 363 Deleatur, therefore, wherever you meet it.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2020; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
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n.1590v.1602