halo

halo — noun

1. in religious paintings, a bright circle placed behind a sacred figure such as a

1.nounB1
Definition

in religious paintings, a bright circle placed behind a sacred figure such as a saint or an angel, representing their holiness and connection to the divine.

Example

In the old painting, every saint has a thin golden halo around the head.

collocation: golden halo / have a halo

Omar noticed that the stained-glass window showed Mary with a bright halo.

Common collocations
  • golden halo
  • bright halo
  • pale halo
  • have a halo
  • paint a halo
  • wear a halo
  • halo around the head
Synonyms
  • nimbus

    formal or technical term for the same concept; more common in art history writing than everyday speech.

  • aureole

    describes a larger, often golden glow surrounding the whole body, not just the head.

  • glory

    used in older or poetic language to mean a luminous halo; also suggests fame or honour.

Usage Note

Frequently used with adjectives describing colour or material (golden, bright, pale) and with verbs like have, paint, add, wear.

Common Mistakes

The saint had a circle of light around him.
The saint had a halo around his head.
English normally uses 'halo' rather than 'circle of light' when referring to religious art.

2. a ring of bright light that appears around the sun, the moon, or another light s

2.nounB2
Definition

a ring of bright light that appears around the sun, the moon, or another light source such as a streetlamp, often caused by ice crystals or water droplets in the air.

Example

A pale halo surrounded the moon on that cold, clear winter night.

halo + verb: surrounded the moon

Wei pointed at the streetlight and asked why it had a halo in the fog.

Common collocations
  • pale halo
  • dim halo
  • solar halo
  • lunar halo
  • halo around the moon
  • halo of light
  • halo around the sun
Synonyms
  • corona

    a scientific term for the outermost layer of the sun's atmosphere seen during an eclipse; also used for a halo around the moon.

  • ring of light

    a descriptive phrase instead of the single word; less precise but more generally understood.

Usage Note

Often modified by adjectives describing brightness or weather conditions (pale, dim, bright, solar, lunar). Can be used with of-phrases: a halo of light.

halo — verb

halo — combining form

Word family

  • halos
    nounB1
  • haloed
    adjectiveC1
  • haloing
    adjectiveC1

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

All three words refer to a circle or glow of light around a holy figure in religious art, but they differ in scope and register. Nimbus is the technical art-history term for the exact same concept as halo — a bright disk behind the head — and is used mostly in formal writing about paintings or icons. Aureole (or aureola) describes a larger, golden glow that surrounds the whole body rather than just the head; in Christian art, an aureole often encloses the entire figure of Christ or the Virgin Mary. Glory is a broader, more poetic word that can mean either a halo or the state of being honoured and praised; it appears in older religious texts and hymns rather than modern art criticism. For everyday use, halo is the most natural choice: 'The stained-glass window showed a saint with a golden halo.' Use nimbus in an art-history essay, aureole when describing a full-body glow, and glory mainly in literary or biblical contexts.

nimbusaureoleglory ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

Phrases

  • a halo of light
  • surrounded by a halo
  • with a halo

Prepositions

Etymology

GreekLatinEnglish

The English word halo comes from Latin halos, meaning 'disk of the sun or moon,' which was borrowed from Greek halos, originally meaning 'threshing floor' (a circular area where grain was separated). The sense shifted from a circular floor to a circular disk of light in the sky, and later to the ring of light painted around holy figures in Christian art. Interestingly, the combining form halo- meaning 'salt' (as in halogen) comes from a completely different Greek root, háls meaning 'salt,' and is unrelated to the ring-of-light meaning despite sharing the same spelling.