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aureole

[awr-ee-ohl]
See more synonyms for aureole on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. a radiance surrounding the head or the whole figure in the representation of a sacred personage.
  2. any encircling ring of light or color; halo.
  3. Astronomy. corona(def 3).
  4. Geology. a zone of altered country rock around an igneous intrusion.
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Also au·re·o·la [aw-ree-uh-luh, uh-ree-] /ɔˈri ə lə, əˈri-/.

Origin of aureole

1175–1225; Middle English < Latin aureola (corona) golden (crown), equivalent to aure(us) golden (see aureate) + -ola, feminine of -olus -ole1

corona

[kuh-roh-nuh]
noun, plural co·ro·nas, co·ro·nae [kuh-roh-nee] /kəˈroʊ ni/.
  1. a white or colored circle or set of concentric circles of light seen around a luminous body, especially around the sun or moon.
  2. Meteorology. such a circle or set of circles having a small radius and ranging in color from blue inside to red outside, attributable to the diffraction caused by thin clouds, mist, or sometimes dust (distinguished from halo).
  3. Also called aureola, aureole. Astronomy. a faintly luminous envelope outside of the sun's chromosphere, the inner part consisting of highly ionized elements.
  4. a long, straight, untapered cigar, rounded at the closed end.
  5. Botany. a crownlike appendage, especially one on the inner side of a corolla, as in the narcissus.
  6. Anatomy. the upper portion or crown of a part, as of the head.
  7. Electricity. corona discharge.
  8. Architecture. the projecting, slablike member of a classical cornice supported by the bed molding or by modillions, dentils, etc., and supporting the cymatium.
  9. the tonsure of a cleric.
  10. Ecclesiastical. a gold-colored stripe around the lower edge of a clerical headdress, as of a miter.
  11. a chandelier of wrought metal, having the form of one or more concentric hoops.
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Origin of corona

1555–65; < Latin corōna garland, crown < Greek korṓnē crown, curved object; akin to korōnís curved, beaked, kórax crow1, raven
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words

atmosphere, glory, aura, aureole, vapor, halo, radiance, nimbus, aurora, corona, aureola, halation

Examples from the Web for aureola

Historical Examples

  • “It is the aureola which has stolen into my heart,” thought Cristobal.

    Fairy Book

    Sophie May

  • It was her splendour and her aureola which appeared in the air.

    Psyche

    Louis Couperus

  • The rays quivered everywhere in the air, and the aureola filled the world.

    Psyche

    Louis Couperus

  • The child replied by a slight motion of the head; and the aureola trembled like sunlight on the water.

    Fairy Book

    Sophie May

  • The balloon threw large shadows on this heap of clouds, and was surrounded as by an aureola.

British Dictionary definitions for aureola

aureole

aureola (ɔːˈriːələ)

noun
  1. (esp in paintings of Christian saints and the deity) a border of light or radiance enveloping the head or sometimes the whole of a figure represented as holy
  2. a less common word for halo
  3. another name for corona (def. 2)
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Word Origin

C13: from Old French auréole, from Medieval Latin (corōna) aureola golden (crown), from Latin aureolus golden, from aurum gold

corona

noun plural -nas or -nae (-niː)
  1. a circle of light around a luminous body, usually the moon
  2. Also called: aureole the outermost region of the sun's atmosphere, visible as a faint halo during a solar eclipse
  3. architect the flat vertical face of a cornice just above the soffit
  4. something resembling a corona or halo
  5. a circular chandelier suspended from the roof of a church
  6. botany
    1. the trumpet-shaped part of the corolla of daffodils and similar plants; the crown
    2. a crown of leafy outgrowths from inside the petals of some flowers
  7. anatomy a crownlike structure, such as the top of the head
  8. zoology the head or upper surface of an animal, such as the body of an echinoid or the disc and arms of a crinoid
  9. a long cigar with blunt ends
  10. physics short for corona discharge
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Word Origin

C16: from Latin: crown, from Greek korōne anything curved; related to Greek korōnis wreath, korax crow, Latin curvus curved
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for aureola

aureole

n.

early 13c., from Latin aureola (corona), fem. diminutive of aureus "golden" (see aureate). In medieval Christianity, the celestial crown worn by martyrs, virgins, etc., as victors over the flesh.

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corona

n.

1650s, from Latin corona "crown, garland" (see crown (n.)).

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
aureola in Medicine

corona

(kə-rō′nə)
n. pl. co•ro•nas
  1. The crownlike upper portion of a body part or structure, such as the top of the head.
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The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
aureola in Science

aureole

[ôr′ē-ōl′]
  1. A band of metamorphic rock surrounding a body of cooled magma. Aureoles form through the process of contact metamorphism. See more at contact metamorphism.
  2. See corona.
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corona

[kə-rō′nə]
Plural coronas coronae (kə-rō′nē)
  1. The luminous, irregular envelope of gas outside the chromosphere of a star. The Sun's corona is composed of ionized gas between approximately 1,000,000°K and 2,000,000°K and has an extremely low density. This phenomenon is visible only during a solar eclipse.
  2. A faintly colored luminous ring appearing to surround a celestial body (such as the Moon or Sun) that is visible through a haze or thin cloud, caused by diffraction of light from suspended matter in the intervening medium. Also called aureole
  3. A faint glow of the air in the region of very strong electric fields, caused by ionization of the air molecules and flow of current in that region in corona discharge.
  4. The crownlike upper portion of a bodily part or structure, such as the top of the head.
  5. A crown-shaped structure on the inner side of the petals of some flowers, such as the daffodil.
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The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.