Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun A circular or oval light surrounding the head or body of a representation of a deity or holy person; a halo.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun A luminous emanation or cloud surrounding a figure or an object; an aureola.
- To surround or invest with an aureole.
- noun The zone of contact-metamorphism about an intrusive igneous mass. It is equivalent to *contact-zone.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun astronomy
Corona . - noun A circle of light or
halo around the head of adeity or asaint - noun by extension Any
luminous orcolored ring thatencircles something.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun an indication of radiant light drawn around the head of a saint
- noun the outermost region of the sun's atmosphere; visible as a white halo during a solar eclipse
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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Far off and far up there was a glow of rosy light, and within the aureole was her face, full of sorrow, looking at me with pity in every feature.
Bidwell's Travels, from Wall Street to London Prison Fifteen Years in Solitude Austin Bidwell
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Outside the aureole are the symbols of the four Evangelists: the Angel of St. Matthew and the Eagle of St. John one on each side above the Winged Lion of St. Mark and the Ox of St. Luke similarly placed below.
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The aureole, that is the halo which surrounds an entire figure, naturally takes the shape of an oval, though if it is used for a bust, it readily resumes the circular form.
The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume 11: New Mexico-Philip 1840-1916 1913
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For the virgins shall have the crown that is called aureole, they only shall sing the new song, they shall be clad with vestments of the same with Jesu Christ, and joy always with him, and they shall follow always the Lamb.
The Golden Legend, vol. 6 1230-1298 1900
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The single greatest problem posed by Black's appearance on screen today is a phenomenon sometimes referred to as the aureole of anachronistic atrociousness, whereby people who did not always suck are surrounded by a glimmering halo of barely visible non-sucking that evokes vague memories of the time when they were not fully fledged enemies of the people.
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It gave to her a kind of aureole, as if her beauty shed a lustre round her.
The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 14, No. 84, October, 1864 Various
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A more usual name is "aureole", which in a restricted sense means an oval or elliptical ray of light like a medallion.
The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume 11: New Mexico-Philip 1840-1916 1913
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Infant Jesus, as you pleased, but the sculptor had adorned the head with a kind of aureole; and so the fanatics declared that it was a mocking of God.
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The child might be a Cupid or an Infant Jesus, as you pleased, but the sculptor had adorned the head with a kind of aureole; and so the fanatics declared that it was a mocking of God.
The Complete Memoirs of Jacques Casanova Giacomo Casanova 1761
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The child might be a Cupid or an Infant Jesus, as you pleased, but the sculptor had adorned the head with a kind of aureole; and so the fanatics declared that it was a mocking of God.
Memoirs of Casanova — Volume 26: Spain Giacomo Casanova 1761
brtom commented on the word aureole
"His scarlet beak blazes within the aureole of his straw hat."
Joyce, Ulysses, 15
February 5, 2007
bilby commented on the word aureole
"Sparse blond hair rose like an aureole from the back of his neck. His skin was pink and clean as though he had just come from a steam bath and he smoked a long Russian cigarette."
- 'The Colour Of Blood', Brian Moore.
January 3, 2008