Word of the Day

: May 28, 2008

heliolatry

noun hee-lee-AH-luh-tree

What It Means

: sun worship

heliolatry in Context

The Egyptians, who personified the sun as the god Ra, were one of numerous ancient cultures that practiced heliolatry.

Did You Know?

The first half of "heliolatry" derives from "hēlios," the Greek word for "sun." In Greek mythology, Hēlios was the god of the sun, imagined as "driving" the sun as a chariot across the sky. From "hēlios" we also get the word "helium," referring to the very light gas that is found in balloons and airships, and "heliocentric," meaning "having or relating to the sun as center," as in "a heliocentric orbit." The suffix "-latry," meaning "worship," derives via Late Latin and French from the Greek "latreia," and can be found in such words as "bardolatry" ("worship of Shakespeare") and "zoolatry" ("animal worship"). A person who worships the sun is called a heliolater.