halo

¹ American  

[hey-loh] / ˈheɪ loʊ /

noun

plural

halos, haloes

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 "profession" of a medieval lord cast a halo around him and made him a ruler of men.

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 (corona ).

4. Astronomy. a spherical cloud of gas clusters and stars that form part of a spiral galaxy.

5. any of various other things resembling a halo, especially a lighter or differently colored area surrounding an object.

   I think the scab was from some kind of bite, and now there's a halo around it with bruising.

6. Also called Cellini's halo.  Heiligenschein.

7. 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.

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verb (used with object)

haloed, haloing

1. to surround with a halo.

verb (used without object)

haloed, haloing

1. to form a halo.

halo- ² American  

1. a combining form meaning “salt,” used in the formation of compound words (halophyte ); sometimes specialized as a combining form of halogen (halothane ).

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halo ¹ British  

/ ˈheɪləʊ /

noun

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

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verb

1. to surround with or form a halo

halo- ² British  

combining form

1. indicating salt or the sea

   halophyte

2. relating to or containing a halogen

   halothane

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halo Scientific  

/ hā′lō /

1. 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.

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Other Word Forms

• halo-like adjective
• unhaloed adjective

Etymology

Origin of halo¹

First recorded in 1555–65; from Latin, accusative of halōs “circle around the sun or moon,” from Greek hálōs “threshing floor; grain on a threshing floor; shield; halo”

Origin of halo-¹

< Greek, combining form of háls salt

Example Sentences

Its central region spans about 500,000 light years, similar in size to the halo surrounding the Milky Way.

From Science Daily

The entire upper half of the canvas is an abstraction of mottled brushstrokes ranging from charcoal gray to a deep velvety black that surrounds the head like a heavy halo.

From The Wall Street Journal

In scenes that required Smoke and Stack to appear in the same frame, filmmakers encircled Jordan’s head with a shoulder-mounted “halo rig” affixed with 10 small cameras.

From Los Angeles Times

That’s likely a reflection of the years in which unvaccinated individuals were protected by the halo effect of others living around them who were vaccinated.

From MarketWatch

See More: Tesla’s stock has an AI halo.

From MarketWatch