The Collaborative International Dictionary
Heliotrope \He"li*o*trope\, n. [F. h['e]liotrope, L. heliotropium, Gr. ?; ? the sun + ? to turn, ? turn. See Heliacal, Trope.]
(Anc. Astron.) An instrument or machine for showing when the sun arrived at the tropics and equinoctial line.
(Bot.) A plant of the genus Heliotropium; -- called also turnsole and girasole. Heliotropium Peruvianum is the commonly cultivated species with fragrant flowers.
(Geodesy & Signal Service) An instrument for making signals to an observer at a distance, by means of the sun's rays thrown from a mirror.
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(Min.) See Bloodstone (a) .
Heliotrope purple, a grayish purple color.
Douglas Harper's Etymology Dictionary
1580s, from Italian girasole, literally "turning toward the sun," from girare "to rotate" (see gyration) + sole (see Sol).
Wikipedia
Girasole, Gelisui in sardinian language, is a comune (municipality) in the Province of Nuoro in the Italian region Sardinia, located about northeast of Cagliari and about northwest of Tortolì. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 1,020 and an area of .
Girasole borders the following municipalities: Lotzorai, Tortolì, and Villagrande Strisaili.
Usage examples of "girasole".
The night was mild, it seemed to Carol Girasole that spring was honestly here at last.
A short beard rusted his coarse-featured face and nape-length red hair was tied by a leather band sewn with bright bits of girasole above the craggy brow.