1.
[syn: heliacal, heliac]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Heliacal \He*li"a*cal\, a. [Gr. ? belonging to the sun, fr. ?
the sun: cf. F. h['e]liaque.] (Astron.)
Emerging from the light of the sun, or passing into it;
rising or setting at the same, or nearly the same, time as
the sun. --Sir T. Browne.
[1913 Webster]
Note: The heliacal rising of a star is when, after being in
conjunction with the sun, and invisible, it emerges
from the light so as to be visible in the morning
before sunrising. On the contrary, the heliacal setting
of a star is when the sun approaches conjunction so
near as to render the star invisible.
[1913 Webster]
WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):
heliacal
adj 1: pertaining to or near the sun; especially the first
rising of a star after and last setting before its
invisibility owing to its conjunction with the sun; "the
heliacal rising of the Dog Star"; "the heliacal or Sothic
year is determined by the heliacal rising of Sothis (the
Egyptian name for the Dog Star)" [syn: heliacal,
heliac]