Lexic.us

Definition of Heliotrope

1. Noun. Green chalcedony with red spots that resemble blood.

Definition of Heliotrope

1. n. An instrument or machine for showing when the sun arrived at the tropics and equinoctial line.

Definition of Heliotrope

1. Noun. (botany) A plant that turns so that it faces the sun. ¹

2. Noun. (botany) Particularly, a purple-flowered plant of the species ''Heliotropium arborescens''. ¹

3. Noun. A light purple or violet colour. ¹

4. Noun. The fragrance of heliotrope flowers. ¹

5. Noun. (minerology) A bloodstone (a variety of quartz). ¹

6. Noun. (surveying) An instrument, employed in triangulation, that uses a mirror to reflect sunlight toward another, very distant, surveyor. ¹

7. Adjective. Light purple or violet. ¹

8. Adjective. Keeping one’s face turned toward the sun. ¹

¹ Source: wiktionary.com

Definition of Heliotrope

1. [n -S]

Medical Definition of Heliotrope

1. 1. An instrument or machine for showing when the sun arrived at the tropics and equinoctial line. 2. A plant of the genus Heliotropium; called also turnsole and girasole. H. Peruvianum is the commonly cultivated species with fragrant flowers. 3. An instrument for making signals to an observer at a distance, by means of the sun's rays thrown from a mirror. 4. See Bloodstone . Heliotrope purple, a grayish purple colour. Origin: F. Heliotrope, L. Heliotropium, Gr.; the sun + to turn, turn. See Heliacal, Trope. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998)

Lexicographical Neighbors of Heliotrope

Literary usage of Heliotrope

Below you will find example usage of this term as found in modern and/or classical literature:

1. The Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture: A Discussion for the Amateur, and by Liberty Hyde Bailey (1915)
"LHB heliotrope, apart from its use as a border plant and for bedding, being a universal favorite, usually forms part of the stock in trade of florists who ..."

2. The American Cyclopaedia: A Popular Dictionary of General Knowledge by George Ripley, Charles Anderson Dana (1883)
"The heliotrope is simply a mirror fixed permanently at a station so as to throw its ... The odor of the heliotrope is compared by some to that of vanilla; ..."

3. Flora Domestica, Or, The Portable Flower-garden: With Directions for the by Elizabeth Kent, Leigh Hunt (1831)
"The word heliotrope is derived from two Greek words, signifying the sun, ... THE Peruvian heliotrope is chiefly admired for its fragrance: it is an elegant ..."

4. Handbook of Archæology: Egyptian--Greek--Etruscan--Roman by Hodder Michael Westropp (1867)
"According to Mr. King, the iaspis " stained with red spots," mentioned by Pliny, is not the heliotrope, but a white chalcedony full of red spots. ..."

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