heliotropism

[ hee-lee-o-truh-piz-uhm, hee-lee-uh-troh-piz-uhm ]

noun
  1. heliotropic tendency or growth.

Origin of heliotropism

1
First recorded in 1850–55; helio- + -tropism

Words Nearby heliotropism

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use heliotropism in a sentence

  • If it acts in a one-sided way, it causes the particular form of stimulation which we call phototaxis or heliotropism.

    The Wonders of Life | Ernst Haeckel
  • This 'midday sleep' has been termed para-heliotropism by Darwin.

  • We notice also the reverse phenomenon, namely, that chemical changes produced in the animal destroy its heliotropism.

    Darwin and Modern Science | A.C. Seward and Others
  • These periodic motions are determined to a large extent, if not exclusively, by the heliotropism of these animals.

    Darwin and Modern Science | A.C. Seward and Others
  • This problem reduces itself simply to that of the method whereby the gametes transmit heliotropism to the larvae or to the adult.

    Darwin and Modern Science | A.C. Seward and Others

British Dictionary definitions for heliotropism

heliotropism

/ (ˌhiːlɪˈɒtrəˌpɪzəm) /


noun
  1. the growth of plants or plant parts (esp flowers) in response to the stimulus of sunlight, so that they turn to face the sun

Derived forms of heliotropism

  • heliotropic (ˌhiːlɪəʊˈtrɒpɪk), adjective
  • heliotropically, adverb

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for heliotropism

heliotropism

[ hē′lē-ŏtrə-pĭz′əm ]


  1. The growth or movement of a fixed organism, especially a plant, toward or away from sunlight. Heliotropism can be easily seen in sunflowers, which slowly turn their large flowers so that they continually face the sun.

Other words from heliotropism

  • heliotropic adjective (hēl′lē-ə-trōpĭk, -trŏpĭk)

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