loʊ noun
1.
Also called nimbus. a geometric shape, usually in the form of a disk, circle, ring, or rayed structure, traditionally representing a radiant light around or above the head of a divine or sacred personage, an ancient or medieval monarch, etc.
2.
an atmosphere or quality of glory, majesty, sanctity, or the like: the halo around Shakespeare's works; She put a halo around her son.
3.
Meteorology. any of a variety of bright circles or arcs centered on the sun or moon, caused by the refraction or reflection of light by ice crystals suspended in the earth's atmosphere and exhibiting prismatic coloration ranging from red inside to blue outside ( distinguished from corona ).
4.
Astronomy. a spherical cloud of gas clusters and stars that form part of a spiral galaxy.
5.
an undesirable bright or dark ring surrounding an image on the fluorescent screen of a television tube, due to some fault either in transmission or reception.
verb (used with object)
6.
to surround with a halo.
00:10
Halo
is always a great word to know.
So is squall line. Does it mean:
| an announcement to the public that a storm or other weather hazard is imminent and that immediate steps should be taken to protect lives and property |
| a line or extended narrow region within which squalls or thunderstorms occur, often several hundred miles long |
verb (used without object)
7.
to form a halo.
Origin:
1555–65; < Latin, accusative of halōs circle round sun or moon < Greek hálōs such a circle, disk, orig. threshing floor
1555–65; < Latin, accusative of halōs circle round sun or moon < Greek hálōs such a circle, disk, orig. threshing floor
Related forms
un·ha·loed, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Link To halo
Collins
World English Dictionary
halo (ˈheɪləʊ) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —n , pl -loes, -los | |
| 1. | a disc or ring of light around the head of an angel, saint, etc, as in painting or sculpture |
| 2. | the aura surrounding an idealized, famous, or admired person, thing, or event |
| 3. | a circle of light around the sun or moon, caused by the refraction of light by particles of ice |
| 4. | astronomy a spherical cloud of stars surrounding the Galaxy and other spiral galaxies |
| —vb , -loes, -los, -loes, -los, -loing, -loed | |
| 5. | to surround with or form a halo |
| [C16: from Medieval Latin, from Latin halōs circular threshing floor, from Greek] | |
| 'halo-like | |
| —adj | |
| halo-, (before a vowel) hali- or (before a vowel) hal- | |
| —combining form | |
| 1. | indicating salt or the sea: halophyte |
| 2. | relating to or containing a halogen: halothane |
| [from Greek hals,hal- sea, salt] | |
| hali-, (before a vowel) hali- or (before a vowel) hal- | |
| —combining form | |
| [from Greek hals,hal- sea, salt] | |
| hal-, (before a vowel) hali- or (before a vowel) hal- | |
| —combining form | |
| [from Greek hals,hal- sea, salt] | |
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History
halo
1563, from L. halo (acc.), from Gk. halos "disk of the sun or moon, ring of light around the sun or moon" (also "threshing floor" and "disk of a shield"), of unknown origin. Sense of "light around the head of a holy person or deity" first recorded 1646.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage
Medical Dictionary
halo ha·lo (hā'lō)
n. pl. ha·los or ha·loes
A reddish yellow ring surrounding the optic disk, caused by an expansion of the scleral ring that makes the deeper structures visible.
Glaucomatous halo.
A ring of light surrounding a luminous body.
halo- or hal-
pref.
Salt: halophilic.
Halogen: halide.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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American Heritage
Science Dictionary
halo  (hā'lō) Pronunciation Key
A hazy ring of colored light in the sky around the Sun, Moon, or a similar bright object. A halo is caused by the reflection and refraction of light through atmospheric ice crystals. |
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
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Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
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Example sentences
Her body was fringed in a halo of light on the dim stage.
The full moon is sometimes surrounded by a ring or halo of light.
Elves are dim, halo-shaped discharges that appear even higher in the mesosphere.
Surrounding it is a halo colored electric white, which gives way to deep blues and blacks in the outer reaches of the plane.
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