heliacal

American  

[hi-lahy-uh-kuhl] / hɪˈlaɪ ə kəl /

Also heliac

adjective

Astronomy.

1. pertaining to or occurring near the sun, especially applied to such risings and settings of a star as are most nearly coincident with those of the sun while yet visible.

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Other Word Forms

• heliacally adverb

Etymology

Origin of heliacal

1600–10; < Late Latin hēliac ( us ) (< Greek hēliakós; see heli- ¹, -ac) + -al ¹

Example Sentences

They approximated to the truth in reference to the solar year, by observing the equinoxes and solstices, and the heliacal rising of particular stars.

From The Old Roman World, : the Grandeur and Failure of Its Civilization. by Lord, John

If therefore Ilioneus, according to our supposition, understand the heliacal rising of Orion, Anna must mean the achronical, which the different epithets given to that constellation seem to manifest.

From Discourses on Satire and on Epic Poetry by Dryden, John

The first day of the Muhammadan month Jamada' l akhir, corresponding to the heliacal rising of the moon on that occasion, was Saturday, May 19.

From A Forgotten Empire (Vijayanagar): a contribution to the history of India by Sewell, Robert

Either the calendar did not originate in Egypt, or it was introduced in 2780 B.C., when again the heliacal rising Sothis fell on the first of Thoth.

From The Egyptian Conception of Immortality by Reisner, George Andrew

In Egypt, another reason was, that then the Nile began to overflow, at the heliacal rising of Sirius.

From Morals and Dogma of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry by Pike, Albert

Related Words

• cosmic