Aurora
noun /əˈrɔːrə/ — The dawn; the Northern or Southern Lights.
Definition
The natural luminous display seen in the night sky near the polar regions — caused by charged particles from the sun interacting with Earth's atmosphere. Also: the Roman goddess of dawn.
Beyond the definition
There are very few natural phenomena that reliably make people cry. The aurora is one of them. Something about the scale, the silence, the colour — green and pink fire written slowly across a sky that should only be black — breaks through ordinary defences.
Origin & history
Latin 'Aurora' — goddess of dawn, related to 'aurum' (gold). The Latins named the northern lights after dawn because the pale light was the closest comparison they had.
Example sentences
Illustrative sentences for learning, not verified community posts or sourced quotations.
They drove to Iceland in November and saw aurora on the second night — she wept, and wasn't embarrassed.
The aurora borealis was everything he'd read about and nothing like it.
She used 'aurora' in her novel — a chapter beginning with the moment before dawn.
How to use it
This entry uses a noun. Follow the examples for articles and singular or plural forms; not every noun takes “a” or “an.”
Choose “Aurora” when the meaning fits your context: The natural luminous display seen in the night sky near the polar regions — caused by charged particles from the sun interacting with Earth's atmosphere. Also: the Roman goddess of dawn.
Synonyms
northern lights, dawn, aurora borealis, polar lights
Antonyms
Related words
Questions about this word
What does "Aurora" mean?
Aurora is noun meaning: The dawn; the Northern or Southern Lights.. The natural luminous display seen in the night sky near the polar regions — caused by charged particles from the sun interacting with Earth's atmosphere. Also: the Roman goddess of dawn.
Where does the word "Aurora" come from?
Latin 'Aurora' — goddess of dawn, related to 'aurum' (gold). The Latins named the northern lights after dawn because the pale light was the closest comparison they had.