Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun An invisible emanation or field of energy believed to radiate from a person or object.
  • noun A distinctive but intangible quality that seems to surround a person or thing; an atmosphere.
  • noun Medicine A sensation, as of a cold breeze or a bright light, that precedes the onset of certain disorders, such as an epileptic seizure or an attack of migraine.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun [capitalized] In Greek myth, a personification of the lighter winds or breezes, the divinities of the air.
  • noun A supposed influence, force, or imponderable matter proceeding from a body and surrounding it as an atmosphere; specifically, an imponderable substance supposed to emanate from all living things, to consist of the subtle essence of the individual, and to be a means of manifesting what is called animal magnetism, and also a medium for the operation of alleged mesmeric, clairvoyant, and somnambulic powers. Also called nerve-aura, or nervaura.
  • noun Figuratively, atmosphere; air; character, etc.
  • noun A peculiar sensation resembling that produced by a current of air. See epileptic aura, below.
  • noun An old native name of any South American vulture excepting the condor; an urubu, tzopilotl, gallinazo, turkey-buzzard, or carrion-crow.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun Any subtile, invisible emanation, effluvium, or exhalation from a substance, as the aroma of flowers, the odor of the blood, a supposed fertilizing emanation from the pollen of flowers, etc.
  • noun (Med.) The peculiar sensation, as of a light vapor, or cold air, rising from the trunk or limbs towards the head, a premonitory symptom of epilepsy or hysterics.
  • noun a supposed electric fluid, emanating from an electrified body, and forming a mass surrounding it, called the electric atmosphere. See Atmosphere, 2.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun Distinctive atmosphere or quality associated with something.
  • noun An invisible force surrounding a living creature.
  • noun medicine Perceptual disturbance experienced by some migraine sufferers before a migraine headache.
  • noun medicine Telltale sensation experienced by some people with epilepsy before a seizure.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun a sensation (as of a cold breeze or bright light) that precedes the onset of certain disorders such as a migraine attack or epileptic seizure
  • noun a distinctive but intangible quality surrounding a person or thing
  • noun an indication of radiant light drawn around the head of a saint

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English, gentle breeze, from Latin, from Greek aurā, breath; see wer- in Indo-European roots.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Latin aura ("a breeze, a breath of air, the air"), from Ancient Greek αὔρα (aura, "breeze, soft wind"), from ἀήρ (aēr, "air").

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Examples

  • A standstill, to which the suspicious word "communication" lends a certain aura, is making headway.

    Nobel Lecture - Literature 1999 1999

  • She will wear instead what she refers to as an aura blue dress.

    Water Witches Chris Bohjalian 1995

  • The word aura, which is of Latin origin and first appeared in the 1300s, means gentle breeze or breath of air.

    The Student Operated Press 2010

  • The word aura, which is of Latin origin and first appeared in the 1300s, means gentle breeze or breath of air.

    The Student Operated Press 2010

  • If you click on that "aura" link, you'll see that the visual aura is often associated with loss of visual fields, a condition that could be caused by oxygen deprivation to visual centers in the brain.

    Archive 2004-02-01 2004

  • If you click on that "aura" link, you'll see that the visual aura is often associated with loss of visual fields, a condition that could be caused by oxygen deprivation to visual centers in the brain.

    Medpundit 2004

  • The "aura" is created not by the object but by the belief in the object as authentic and unique.

    Introduction 2003

  • That gave his tenure in Congress an aura from the very start: On the one hand, Democrats hailed him as an emblem of the breadth of their victories in 2008; on the other, he was instantly branded a top target for 2010 by Republicans who promised to retire him after a single term.

    For better or for worse, Va's Perriello wins Obama's cheers Amy Gardner 2010

  • That gave his tenure in Congress an aura from the very start: On the one hand, Democrats hailed him as an emblem of the breadth of their victories in 2008; on the other, he was instantly branded a top target for 2010 by Republicans who promised to retire him after a single term.

    For better or for worse, Va.'s Perriello wins Obama's cheers Amy Gardner 2010

  • Kim Cattrall and Jeffery Kissoon are cleverly cast, since each carries an aura from a previous role that lends lustre to the part they play: he as the great warrior Karna from Peter Brook's Mahabharata and she as Samantha, Sex and the City's love 'em and leave 'em, 40-something vamp.

    Antony and Cleopatra – review Clare Brennan 2010

Comments

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  • Jake in reverie at a stately pace, yes, but with aura madly vigilant, trip-switched, motion-sensored, hair-triggered, so that when the figure launched itself from the trees' murk I was ludicrously ready. From "The Last Werewolf" by Glen Duncan.

    March 3, 2012