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” ( aureate ) + -ola, feminine of -olus noun suffix ( -ole ¹ )

Example Sentences

Eve’s long, spiraling strands of hair blow out into a radiant aureole behind her shapely body, as if it were a starburst halo framing a divinity.

From Los Angeles Times

Using her bare breasts as paintbrushes, Berlin, beginning in the ’70s, made “tit prints,” in which her pigment-laden aureoles produced forms that resemble balloons and angelfish.

From New York Times

Like his crossed legs, Cannon’s head and upper torso are framed in flickering swipes of green, as if this is a depiction of a holy man surrounded by an incandescent aureole.

From Los Angeles Times

And everything is framed by an aureole of crisp fern leaves reaching to the canvas’s edges — a many-pointed crown.

From New York Times

They now form a feathered aureole framing the extraordinary figure of a nude black man who sits, tensely perched on a pillow, legs spread wide.

From New York Times