ha|lo

ha|lo «HAY loh», noun, plural -los or -loes, verb, -loed, -lo|ing

–noun.

1. a ring of light around the sun, moon, or other shining body. It is caused by the refraction of light through ice crystals suspended in the air.

2. a golden circle or disk of light represented about the head of a saint or angel, especially in pictures or statutes; nimbus; aureole.

3. Figurative. the glory or glamour that surrounds a person or thing: »

A halo of romantic adventure surrounds King Arthur and his knights. My head was in the clouds, I…fancied it already encircled by a halo of literary glory (Washington Irving).

SYNONYM(S): aura.

4. a sphere of stars, dark matter, or other material surrounding a galaxy.

–transitive verb.

to surround with a halo.

–intransitive verb.

to form a halo.

╂[< Latin halōs < Greek hálōs a halo, disk; (originally) threshing floor (from the circular path of the oxen)]

–ha´lo|like´, adjective.