nimbus

American  

[nim-buhs] / ˈnɪm bəs /

noun

plural

nimbi, nimbuses

1. Classical Mythology. a shining cloud sometimes surrounding a deity when on earth.

2. a cloud, aura, atmosphere, etc., surrounding a person or thing.

   The candidate was encompassed with a nimbus of fame.

3. halo.

4. the type of dense clouds or cloud mass with ragged edges, that yields rain or snow; a rain cloud.

5. (initial capital letter) one of a series of polar-orbiting meteorological and environmental research satellites, the last of which Nimbus 7, launched 1978, was the first satellite designed to monitor atmospheric pollutants.

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nimbus British  

/ ˈnɪmbəs /

noun

1. 1. a dark grey rain-bearing cloud

   2. ( in combination )

      cumulonimbus clouds

2. 1. an emanation of light surrounding a saint or deity

   2. a representation of this emanation

3. a surrounding aura or atmosphere

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nimbus Scientific  

/ nĭm′bəs /

plural

nimbi

1. A rain cloud.

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Other Word Forms

• nimbused adjective

Etymology

Origin of nimbus

First recorded in 1600–10; from Latin, “rainstorm, rain cloud, thundercloud, cloud”; akin to Latin nebula and Greek nephélē, néphos “cloud,” and Slavic ( Polish ) niebo “sky, heaven”

Example Sentences

Radar domes, used for military surveillance, floated like nimbus clouds.

From New York Times • Sep. 23, 2023

Scheib’s staging, just Bayreuth’s 11th “Parsifal” production, paid homage to Wieland Wagner’s breakthrough 1951 minimalist sets with a circle of light that represented both the knights’ round table and a flying nimbus above the wasteland.

From Seattle Times • Jul. 26, 2023

Humanizing Bunny is in keeping with the show's general nimbus of empathy for all of its personalities, even its villains.

From Salon • Jul. 6, 2022

But a nimbus of noise accumulates around the simple-seeming chords.

From The New Yorker • Oct. 29, 2019

White hair surrounded his otherwise bald head in a nimbus and plugged his big ears like cotton.

From "Middlesex: A Novel" by Jeffrey Eugenides