halo English · revision 39862

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=1563|origins=grc ἅλως}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /ˈheɪ̯loʊ̯/^(Wiktionary)

+ * UK: /ˈheɪ̯ləʊ̯/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|la|halōs|t=a ring of light round the sun or moon]], or its [[accusative]] [[m|la|halō]],^(Etymonline)^(OED 2026)^(Barnhart 1995) which the Shorter Oxford and Hoad take through [[m|la-med|halo]],^(SOED 2002)^(Hoad 1986) [[bor|grc|ἅλως|tr=hálōs|t=threshing floor; disk of the sun, moon, or a shield]].^(Etymonline)^(OED 2026)^(AHD 2024) The Greek word is of unknown origin.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1995) Etymonline and Barnhart think "threshing floor" was the original sense, the round path that the oxen trod giving the idea of a disk,^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) and Skeat describes the same path.^(Skeat 1911) The OED compares [[m|fr|halo]], [[m|it|alone]] and [[m|es|halon]], whose forms imply a Latin stem in ''-n-'';^(OED 2026)^(Weekley 1921) Barnhart allows that English took the word partly through the Spanish and French forms.^(Barnhart 1995) Merriam-Webster relates the Greek noun to [[m|grc|ἅλων|tr=hálōn|t=threshing floor]].^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A circle of light seen round the sun, the moon or another bright body: the OED's first quotation is from William Fulke's book on meteors of 1563,^(OED 2026)^(HTOED) and Etymonline dates the word to the 1560s.^(Etymonline) Dictionary.com gives 1555–65,^(Dictionary.com 2016) while Merriam-Webster's first known use is 1603.^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The religious sense, the disk of light painted round the heads of Christ and the saints, followed in 1646, in Sir Thomas Browne;^(OED 2026)^(Barnhart 1995)^(HTOED) the Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins dates it to around the middle of the 17th century.^(Cresswell 2021) Johnson (1755) still knew only the meteorological sense, "a red circle round the sun or moon", quoting Newton's ''Opticks''.^(Johnson 1755) The figurative sense, the glory with which a person or thing seems to be surrounded when viewed with admiration, is first recorded in Byron's ''Giaour'' of 1813, and in the same year Shelley used the word for other luminous circles and then for any ring.^(OED 2026)^(Hoad 1986) Later uses include a coloured ring round a nipple or a pustule (1706),^(OED 2026) a women's hat that framed the face (1899)^(OED 2026)^(HTOED) and a bright or dark ring in photography (1941).^(OED 2026)^(Cresswell 2021) The verb, to surround with a halo, is recorded from 1801, in Southey;^(OED 2026)^(Barnhart 1995)^(MWU 2024) Etymonline finds it implied in ''haloed'' in 1791.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1563 – a ring of light round the sun or moon.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1646 – the disk of light round the head of a saint.^(OED 2026)^(Barnhart 1995)

+ * 1706 – a coloured ring round a nipple or pustule.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1801 – verb, to surround with a halo.^(OED 2026)^(MWU 2024)

+ * 1813 – figurative, an aura of glory; any ring of light.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1899 – a style of women's hat.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1941 – a ring in a photographic image.^(OED 2026)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A disk or ring of [[light]] shown round the head of a [[saint]], an angel or a divine figure in art; a [[nimbus]]: ''The fresco shows each apostle with a gilded halo.''^(Collins 2023)^(OED 2026)

+ # A circle of light round the [[sun]] or [[moon]], caused by light refracted through ice crystals in the air.^(Collins 2023)^(MWU 2024)

+ # An [[aura]] of glory or admiration surrounding a person, thing or event.^(Collins 2023)^(OED 2026)

+ # (astronomy) A roughly spherical cloud of stars surrounding a spiral [[galaxy]].^(Collins 2023)

+ # Any ring or circle resembling a halo.^(OED 2026)^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To surround with a halo or as if with a halo: ''Street lamps haloed by the drizzle lined the quay.''^(Collins 2023)^(MWU 2024)^(OED 2026)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[enhalo]]

+ * [[halo blight]]

+ * [[halo effect]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[halation]]

+ * [[aureole]]

+ * [[nimbus]]

+ * [[corona]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}