halo

C2+ Topic:Space, Position & Direction

US /ˈheɪloʊ/ UK /ˈheɪləʊ/ See IPA manual

Minimal pairs

Sounds like hello /ɛ/ vs /eɪ/

noun

Meanings

1

noun
a ring of light around the head of a sacred figure or a luminous circle in the sky

A faint halo encircled the moon on the frosty night.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a ring of light around the... nimbusaureole corona glory ring aura

Word family

Forms haloed

Etymology

From Latin halōs, from Ancient Greek hálōs ('disk of the sun or moon; threshing floor'), the circular shape of the threshing floor giving the sense of a ring of light.

halōs Latin hálōs Ancient Greek

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Space, Position & Direction

# halo

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** ˈheɪloʊ
**IPA (UK):** ˈheɪləʊ

## Meanings
1. a ring of light around the head of a sacred figure or a luminous circle in the sky

## Examples
- A faint halo encircled the moon on the frosty night.

## Synonyms
- nimbus
- aureole
- corona
- glory
- ring
- aura

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: halōs
- Root: hálōs

## Etymology
From Latin halōs, from Ancient Greek hálōs ('disk of the sun or moon; threshing floor'), the circular shape of the threshing floor giving the sense of a ring of light.

## AI Etymology
halo comes from Latin halōs, from Ancient Greek hálōs ('disk of the sun or moon; threshing floor'), the circular shape of the threshing floor giving the sense of a ring of light. The path is chiefly one of transmission: the word passes through the named languages and forms, with each stage preserving part of the modern shape. In present English, the noun sense is "a ring of light around the head of a sacred figure or a luminous circle in the sky", so the historical development ends in a clearly identifiable modern dictionary use. Its semantic neighborhood includes nimbus, aureole, corona, and glory, which helps locate the modern sense without adding a separate etymological claim. The named historical forms include Latin halōs and Ancient Greek hálōs.

## Topics
- Space, Position & Direction

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halo

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