ha·lo (hā'lō)
n., pl., -los, or -loes.

1. 1. A circular band of colored light around a light source, as around the sun or moon, caused by the refraction and reflection of light by ice particles suspended in the intervening atmosphere.
   2. Something resembling this band.
2. A luminous ring or disk of light surrounding the heads or bodies of sacred figures, such as saints, in religious paintings; a nimbus.
3. The aura of majesty or glory surrounding a person or thing that is regarded with reverence, awe, or sentiment.

tr.v., -loed, -lo·ing, -loes.
To encircle with or as if with a halo.

[Medieval Latin halō, from accusative of Latin halōs, from Greek, threshing floor, disk of or around the sun or moon.]

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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

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