paraselene

[par-uh-si-lee-nee]

noun

Meteorology.

plural

paraselenae 

1. a bright moonlike spot on a lunar halo; a mock moon.

paraselene

/ ˌpærəsɪˈliːnɪ /

noun

1. Also called: mock moon. meteorol a bright image of the moon on a lunar halo Compare parhelion

Other Word Forms

• paraselenic adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of paraselene¹

First recorded in 1645–55; from New Latin, equivalent to para- para- ¹ + Greek selḗnē “the moon”

Word History and Origins

Origin of paraselene¹

C17: New Latin, from _para- ¹ + Greek selēnē moon

Example Sentences

Beneath the glamour of the magic night, the weird paraselene of the moon's phenomenon, the glow of the volcano, the noises, the men whispered of one thing only—Gold!

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On the evening of November 11, there was a brilliant paraselene, two distinct halos and eight false moons being visible in the southern sky.

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This morning it was calm and clear save for a light misty veil of ice crystals through which the moon shone with scarce clouded brilliancy, surrounded with bright cruciform halo and white paraselene.

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All day it has been blowing hard, 30 to 60 miles an hour; it has never looked very dark overhead, but a watery cirrus has been in evidence for some time, causing well marked paraselene.

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