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• helio
  helio

  noun

  a heliogram.
• helio-
  helio-

  a combining form meaning “sun,” used in the formation of compound words.

helio

¹ American  

[hee-lee-oh] / ˈhi liˌoʊ /

noun

Informal.

helios plural

1. a heliogram.

2. a heliograph.

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helio- ² American  

1. a combining form meaning “sun,” used in the formation of compound words.

   heliolatry.

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helio- British  

combining form

1. indicating the sun

   heliocentric

   heliolithic

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Usage

What does helio- mean? Helio- is a combining form used like a prefix meaning “sun.” It is frequently used in a variety of scientific and technical terms. Helio- comes from Greek hḗlios, meaning “sun.” The Latin cognate, sōl, is the source of several words related to the sun, such as solar and solstice. What are variants of helio-?When combined with words or word elements that begin with a vowel, helio- becomes heli-, as in heliencephalitis. Want to know more? Read our Words That Use article for heli-.

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• helios
  plural

Etymology

Origin of helio¹

By shortening

Origin of helio-²

< Greek, combining form of hḗlios sun

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

helio helios

I only know bare facts; the news came by helio.

From Captain Desmond, V.C. by Diver, Maud

They crowded the instrument room where the tense duty man sat bending over his helio receivers.

From Astounding Stories of Super-Science April 1930 by Bates, Harry

He had scarcely uttered the last word when a helio began to twinkle from the hill above Foreland.

From The World Peril of 1910 by Griffith, George Chetwynd

As he wondered, the enemy cruiser flashed like a red helio, and he gasped in admiration at the simultaneous firing of her battery.

From H.M.S. —— by Bower, John Graham

I wondered what the Martian helio might be saying.

From Tarrano the Conqueror by Cummings, Ray

“Heliothraupis,” they wrote, combines the Greek helios, for “sun,” with thraupis, “meaning ‘finch’ or ‘small bird,’ but in current usage usually referring to tanagers.”

From Slate ● Nov. 20, 2021

Soon we were beyond reach of all messages save helios, which were not in operation.

From Tarrano the Conqueror by Cummings, Ray

Flag-signallers were preparing for work at the place where the day before helios had been busy flashing news from gunboats and cavalry to the headquarters.

From Khartoum Campaign, 1898 or the Re-Conquest of the Soudan by Burleigh, Bennet

And above its dome, opened to the sky, wherein the intensified helios shaded so that no ray of them might blind the operators, were sputtering as though eager to be away with their messages.

From Tarrano the Conqueror by Cummings, Ray

He called his process "heliography," helios being the Greek word for sun.

From Great Inventions and Discoveries by Piercy, Willis Duff