Definify.com
Webster 1913 Edition
Heliotrope
He′li-o-trope
,Noun.
1.
(Anc. Astron.)
An instrument or machine for showing when the sun arrived at the tropics and equinoctial line.
2.
(Bot.)
A plant of the genus
Heliotropium
; – called also turnsole
and girasole
. Heliotropium Peruvianum
is the commonly cultivated species with fragrant flowers. 3.
(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.
Webster 1828 Edition
Heliotrope
HE'LIOTROPE
,Noun.
1.
Among the ancients, an instrument or machine for showing when the sun arrived at the tropics and the equinoctial line.2.
A genus or plants, the turnsole.3.
A mineral, a subspecies of rhomboidal quartz, of a deep green color, peculiarly pleasant to the eye. It is usually variegated with blood red or yellowish dots, and is more or less translucent. Before the blowpipe, it loses its color. It is generally supposed to be chalcedony, colored by green earth or chlorite.