heliacal
pronunciation
How to pronounce heliacal in British English:
UK [hɪ'laɪəkəl]
How to pronounce heliacal in American English:
US [hɪ'laɪəkəl]
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- Adjective:
- pertaining to or near the sun; especially the first rising of a star after and last setting before its invisibility owing to its conjunction with the sun
Word Origin
- heliacal (adj.)
- "pertaining to the sun," c. 1600, with -al (1) and Greek heliakos "of the sun," from helios "sun" (see sol). The heliacal year is reckoned from the heliacal rising of Sirius; thus it also is known as the canicular year.
Example
- 1. The method of contiguity was that adopted by the ancient egyptians and the greeks ; it involved the observation of heliacal risings and settings , i.e.the risings and settings of stars near the ecliptic just before sunrise and just after sunset .