dinkus

English

Alternative forms

• dingus

Etymology

Possibly from German Ding (“thing”); compare also dingus § Etymology.

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Noun

dinkus (plural dinkuses)

1. A small drawing or artwork used for decoration in a magazine or periodical.
2. (typography) A small ornament, usually a line of three asterisks (* * *), especially for the purpose of breaking up sections of a chapter, article, or other text.

   Coordinate term: asterism

   • 2023 January 31, Elisabeth Ribbans, “The perils of using journalist jargon outside the newsroom”, in The Guardian‎^[1]:

     More generally a dinkus is a small ornamentation, usually three asterisks, that break up sections of a book chapter, article or other written text.

Further reading

• dinkus on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• Daisy Alioto (2018 June 8) “Ode to the Dinkus”, in Paris Review, retrieved 12 August 2019