aureole

[ awr-ee-ohl ]

See synonyms for aureole on Thesaurus.com

noun

a radiance surrounding the head or the whole figure in the representation of a sacred personage.
any encircling ring of light or color; halo.

Astronomy. corona (def. 3).
Geology. a zone of altered country rock around an igneous intrusion.

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 -ole¹)

Also au·re·o·la [aw-ree-uh-luh, uh-ree-]. /ɔˈri ə lə, əˈri-/.

Words Nearby aureole

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use aureole in a sentence

Its scintillating rays glorified the dark corner with the aureole of a great hope.
Prison Memoirs of an Anarchist | Alexander Berkman
Even her pretty hair seemed to have acquired a nervous life, and stood out in a quivering aureole.
Country Neighbors | Alice Brown
He was small and chunky in build, and nervous in his mind, and had red fuzzy hair that stuck up around his head like an aureole.
The Belted Seas | Arthur Colton
Round the big winged arm of the chair a wonderful, bright aureole of hair showed suddenly.
Molly Make-Believe | Eleanor Hallowell Abbott
He was clearly revealed by the lights, and was magnified by the aureole of tinted fog which surrounded him.
Blow The Man Down | Holman Day

British Dictionary definitions for aureole

aureole

aureola (ɔːˈriːələ)

/ (ˈɔːrɪˌəʊl) /

noun

(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
a less common word for halo

another name for corona (def. 2)

Origin of aureole

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

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

Scientific definitions for aureole

aureole

[ ôr′ē-ōl′ ]

A band of metamorphic rock surrounding a body of cooled magma. Aureoles form through the process of contact metamorphism. See more at contact metamorphism.

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