aureole

American  

[awr-ee-ohl] / ˈɔr iˌoʊl /

Also aureola

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.

4. Geology. a zone of altered country rock around an igneous intrusion.

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aureole British  

/ ˈɔːrɪˌəʊl, 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

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Etymology

Origin of aureole

First recorded in 1175–1225; Middle English, from Latin aureola (corona) “golden (crown),” equivalent to aure(us) “golden” ( see aureate) + -ola, feminine of -olus noun suffix ( see -ole ¹)

Explanation

In art, the circle of light painted or drawn around the heads of religious figures to indicate their divine nature is called an aureole. It comes from the Latin word aureus, which means golden, and aureoles are often created in golden hues. The meaning of the noun aureole has extended to mean anything that resembles the sort of artistic circle of light that surrounds something. The term is frequently used when describing hair. If you have light-colored hair, in the sunlight, it may look like your head is surrounded by a shimmering aureole. The luminous circle around the sun visible during a solar eclipse is also called an aureole.

Example Sentences

To Ebbers' head, he added a hallucinogenic explosion of eyes and dots. Around the pair's hands, he placed an aureole — the abstracted, golden flames that are used in the depiction of holy figures in Catholic iconography.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 13, 2015

That will allow the heat to extend farther into the country rock, creating a larger aureole.

From Textbooks • Jan. 1, 2015

“I love you, Papa,” she said, her smile an aureole of smeared toothpaste and happiness.

From Nature • Mar. 12, 2014

Cressida is a boyish creature, “narrow-hipped, flat-chested” and with “frizzled hair like a dark aureole about her head.”

From New York Times • Feb. 5, 2014

It seemed surrounded by a short of shaded aureole.

From Mysterious Psychic Forces An Account of the Author's Investigations in Psychical Research, Together with Those of Other European Savants by Flammarion, Camille