aurora (n.)

"morning light, dawn," late 14c., from Latin Aurora, the Roman goddess of dawn, from PIE *ausus- "dawn," also the name of the Indo-European goddess of the dawn, from root *aus- (1) "to shine," especially of the dawn (source also of Greek ēōs "dawn").

Entries linking to aurora

*aus- (1)

Proto-Indo-European root meaning "to shine," especially of the dawn. It forms all or part of: austral; Australia; Austria; Austro-; Aurora; east; Easter; eastern; eo-; Ostrogoth.

It is the hypothetical source of/evidence for its existence is provided by: Sanskrit usah "dawn;" Greek ēōs "dawn;" Latin Aurora "goddess of dawn," auster "south wind;" Lithuanian aušra "dawn;" Old English east "east."

aurora borealis (n.)

1620s, "Northern Lights," literally "northern dawn," said to have been coined by French philosopher Petrus Gassendus (1592-1655) after a spectacular display seen in France Sept. 2, 1621; see aurora + boreal. In northern Scotland and among sailors, sometimes called the dancers, pretty dancers, or merry dancers. Related: Aurora australis (1741).

auroral (adj.)

1550s, "pertaining to dawn," from aurora + -al (1). Meaning "of the color of dawn" is from 1827; meaning "of the aurora borealis" is from 1828.

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updated on October 29, 2018

Definitions of aurora from WordNet

aurora (n.)

the first light of day;

Synonyms: dawn / dawning / morning / first light / daybreak / break of day / break of the day / dayspring / sunrise / sunup / cockcrow

aurora (n.)

an atmospheric phenomenon consisting of bands of light caused by charged solar particles following the earth's magnetic lines of force;

Aurora (n.)

(Roman mythology) goddess of the dawn; counterpart of Greek Eos;

From wordnet.princeton.edu, not affiliated with etymonline.

Dictionary entries near aurora

auricle

auricular

auriferous

Auriga

aurochs

aurora

aurora borealis

auroral

*aus-

auscultate

auscultation