What does "heliotrope" mean?
A plant with flowers which turn to face and follow the sun, such as (archaic) marigolds and sunflowers.
Heliotrope
/ˈhiː.li.ə.tɹəʊp/ adj, noun
adj, noun ·Moderate ·College level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A plant with flowers which turn to face and follow the sun, such as (archaic) marigolds and sunflowers.
- Grammar: heliotrope is listed as adj, noun.
- Nearest alternatives: ambergris, ambrosia, attar, balm.
- Useful contrasts: colorless, colorlessness, negative phototropism.
- Usage evidence: There are over three hundred species of heliotrope, many of which are popular garden plants.
How to use "heliotrope"
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- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "heliotrope" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
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Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "heliotrope" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
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Compare nearby meanings
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Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "heliotrope" is acting as adj, noun in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
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Final meaning check
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Definitions
Noun
- 1 A plant with flowers which turn to face and follow the sun, such as (archaic) marigolds and sunflowers. also, countable, figuratively
"In the Opale, there be obſerved alſo divers blemiſhes and imperfections as vvell as in other ſtones; namely, if the colour reſemble the floure of that hearbe vvhich is called Heliotropium, id eſt, Turneſole:[…]"
- 2 green chalcedony with red spots that resemble blood wordnet
- 3 A plant with flowers which turn to face and follow the sun, such as (archaic) marigolds and sunflowers.; A plant of the genus Heliotropium, especially the common heliotrope (Heliotropium arborescens) which has clusters of purple flowers with a strong fragrance. also, countable, figuratively, specifically, uncountable
"As they entered now, it seemed a blaze of roses and carnations, though one recognised in a moment the presence of the lily, the heliotrope, and the stock."
- 4 A plant with flowers which turn to face and follow the sun, such as (archaic) marigolds and sunflowers.; With a qualifying word: any of various plants resembling those of the genus Heliotropium. also, countable, figuratively, uncountable
- 5 The fragrance of Heliotropium arborescens flowers, or a scent resembling this fragrance. uncountable
"He had lost his affable smile, and wore a look of almost military resolution; […] he had always smelt so much more of heliotrope than of gunpowder."
Show 4 more definitions
- 6 A light purple or violet colour like that of Heliotropium arborescens flowers. uncountable
"Kit woke to see looming over him the face of Dr. Willi Dingkopf, framed by a haircut in violation of more than one law of physics, and a vivid necktie in fuchsia, heliotrope, and duck green, a gift from one of the patients, […]"
- 7 An instrument that uses a mirror to reflect sunlight for purposes such as signalling, or (surveying) triangulation (where the reflected light is detected by another surveyor positioned some distance away). countable
- 8 An ancient type of sundial consisting of a bowl with a perpendicular gnomon mounted in the centre. countable, historical
- 9 Synonym of bloodstone (“a green chalcedony that is sprinkled with red spots or veins of hematite”). countable, uncountable
"The pretious ſtone Heliotropium, is found in Æthiopia, Affricke, and Cyprus: the ground thereof is a deepe greene in manner of a leeke, but the ſame is garniſhed vvith veins of bloud: the reaſon of the name Heliotropium is this, For that if it be throvvne into a paile of vvater, it chaungeth the raies of the Sun by vvay of reverberation into a bloudie colour, eſpecially that vvhich commeth out of Æthiopia: the ſame beeing vvithout the vvater, doth repreſent the bodie of the Sun, like unto a mirroir:[…]"
Adjective
- 1 Of a light purple or violet colour like that of Heliotropium arborescens flowers.
""Lady in a heliotrope dress with a lace collar, three flounces on the skirt?" / "That's right, Mr. Bennett," agreed old Goslin. / "It's the Babe himself!" asserted Harry Bennett."
Antonyms
Example
"There are over three hundred species of heliotrope, many of which are popular garden plants."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "heliotrope"?
Common synonyms include: ambergris, ambrosia, attar, balm, balsam, bloodstone.
How do you use "heliotrope" in a sentence?
There are over three hundred species of heliotrope, many of which are popular garden plants.
How do you pronounce "heliotrope"?
Pronounced /ˈhiː.li.ə.tɹəʊp/.
Etymology
PIE word *sóh₂wl̥ The noun is borrowed from French héliotrope, from Latin hēliotropium (“plant which turns to face the sun; bloodstone”), from Ancient Greek ἡλῐοτρόπῐον (hēlĭotrópĭon, “European heliotrope (Heliotropium europaeum); bloodstone; solar clock, sundial”), from ἥλῐος (hḗlĭos, “the sun”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *sóh₂wl̥ (“the sun”)) + τρόπος (trópos, “a turn”) (from τρέπω (trépō, “to rotate; to turn”) (from Proto-Indo-European *trep- (“to turn”)) + -ος (-os, suffix forming nouns from verbs)) + -ῐον (-ĭon, diminutive suffix forming nouns). The French-derived spelling displaced Middle English elitrope, eliotropius, elitropium (“plant which turns to face the sun; bloodstone”) [and other forms], from Old English eliotropus, from Latin hēliotropium (see above); and Old English siġelhweorfa, sōlsece, and sunnfolgend (“heliotrope flower”). Noun sense 6 (“synonym of bloodstone”) is from the fact that a piece of the mineral placed in water is said to change the sun’s rays to a blood-red colour: see the 1601 quotation. The adjective is probably derived from the noun.