What does heliotrope mean?
Heliotrope most commonly denotes a deep purplish-blue color or pigment, a shade valued in painting, inks, cosmetics, and dyes. It also names the garden heliotrope, an aromatic plant with clusters of small purple flowers, and more generally certain plants whose flowers turn toward sunlight. The word’s poetic associations come partly from its history: it comes from a Greek compound meaning “sun-turner,” originally referring to the plant’s apparent responsiveness to the sun. In modern use, the color sense is the more prominent, while the botanical sense remains familiar through garden heliotrope and the familiar perfume ingredient heliotrope oil. The word is useful because it identifies a specific, evocative shade between violet, blue, and purple without requiring the reader to interpret a general color label.
nounA deep purplish-blue color or pigment, formerly used in painting and still used in inks, cosmetics, and dyes. The word also denotes the garden heliotrope, a fragrant flowering plant, and other plants whose flowers are traditionally described as turning toward the sun.
- A deep purplish-blue color or pigment.
- The garden heliotrope, a plant with clusters of small, fragrant purple flowers.
- More generally, any of various plants whose flowers are traditionally said to turn toward the sun, especially species of Heliotropium.
"She painted the lighthouse in deep heliotrope, giving it the violet cast of the sky before sunset."
"The designer paired the heliotrope dress with silver jewelry and black shoes."
"Clusters of heliotrope bloom beside the path in the herb garden."
Used for multiple individual plants, especially in botanical contexts; the color and pigment senses are normally uncountable.
"Fragrant heliotropes grew along the sunny edge of the courtyard."
The ancient “sun-turner” lent its name both to a flower that follows the light and to a purple-blue shade deep enough to seem like twilight.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does heliotrope come from?
Heliotrope comes through Latin and French from the Greek hēliotropos, formed from hēlios, “sun,” and tropein, “to turn,” and therefore literally means “sun-turner.” The English word dates from the early 17th century and was initially associated with plants or flowers that turn toward sunlight; the name for the purplish-blue color developed later. Its relatives in English include heliotropism and heliotropic, while compounds such as heliocentric and helioscope share the same Greek element for “sun.”
Related word forms
How heliotrope is actually used
In the color sense, the term may be capitalized when used as the name of a standardized color. In botanical contexts, especially in North America, “garden heliotrope” usually refers to Valeriana officinalis, while the name “heliotrope” also includes unrelated-looking members of the family Boraginaceae.
Easily confused with heliotrope
Heliotrope is a plant or a purplish-blue color, whereas heliotropism is the growth or movement of an organism in response to sunlight.