heliotaxis

H4E1L1I1O1T1A1X8I1S1

noun

Movement of an organism toward sunlight; positive heliotaxis.

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Meanings

nounheliotaxis (uncountable)
  1. Phototaxis related to the sun.
    1. uncountablebiologyMovement of an organism toward sunlight; positive heliotaxis.
    2. uncountablebiologyMovement of an organism away from sunlight; negative heliotaxis.

      Pronounced negative heliotaxis, evidently depending on some photodermatic sense, was apparent when the ants were exposed to the sun...

      1903, William Morton Wheeler, “Some Notes on the Habits of Cerapachs Augustae”, in Psyche, 10(325-326), page 206

Origin

From helio- + taxis.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

heliotaxis. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/heliotaxis

MLA

“heliotaxis.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/heliotaxis. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “heliotaxis,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/heliotaxis.

Source: heliotaxis on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.