Turnsoles

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A plant known for its heliotropic flowers that turn to face the sun during the day ; a device or mechanism designed to rotate or change direction ; an act of changing position or orientation in movement or thought
2. A type of flowering plant whose blossoms follow the sun’s path ; a rotor or component that shifts direction mechanically ; a shift or alteration in movement or perspective
3. A botanical species characterized by sun-facing flower heads ; a part or tool intended to facilitate rotation or turning ; the process of repositioning or altering course physically or mentally

Etymology: "Turnsoles" is the plural of "turnsole," a word borrowed from French "tournesol," which combines "tourner," to turn, with "soleil," the sun. The name describes a plant that follows the sun across the sky, turning its flower heads toward the light over the course of the day. English uses the same compound in its older sense of the heliotrope and sunflower family, and the plural simply names more than one such plant. The sense of "turnsole" as a tool or part that turns, and as the act of changing direction, grew out of the basic image of turning. Because the word is a plain French compound transferred into English, the sun-following plant is its original and most literal meaning.

Synonyms: turnsole plants, heliotropes