Aurora

[uh-rawr-uh, uh-rohr-uh] /əˈrɔr ə, əˈroʊr ə/
noun, plural Auroras, Aurorae [uh-rawr-ee, uh-rohr-ee] /əˈrɔr i, əˈroʊr i/ (Show IPA), for 2, 3.
1.
the ancient Roman goddess of the dawn.
Compare Eos.
2.
(lowercase) dawn.
3.
(lowercase) Meteorology. a radiant emission from the upper atmosphere that occurs sporadically over the middle and high latitudes of both hemispheres in the form of luminous bands, streamers, or the like, caused by the bombardment of the atmosphere with charged solar particles that are being guided along the earth's magnetic lines of force.
4.
a city in central Colorado, near Denver.
5.
a city in NE Illinois.
6.
a female given name.
Origin
1350-1400; Middle English < Latin aurōra dawn, dawn goddess, east
Examples from the web for Aurora
  • The southern lights, an Aurora that appears in the southern hemisphere.
  • The northern lights, an Aurora that appears in the northern hemisphere.
British Dictionary definitions for Aurora

aurora

/ɔːˈrɔːrə/
noun (pl) -ras, -rae (-riː)
1.
an atmospheric phenomenon consisting of bands, curtains, or streamers of light, usually green, red, or yellow, that move across the sky in polar regions. It is caused by collisions between air molecules and charged particles from the sun that are trapped in the earth's magnetic field
2.
(poetic) the dawn
Derived Forms
auroral, adjective
aurorally, adverb
Word Origin
C14: from Latin: dawn; see east

Aurora1

/ɔːˈrɔːrə/
noun
1.
the Roman goddess of the dawn Greek counterpart Eos
2.
the dawn or rise of something

Aurora2

/ɔːˈrɔːrə/
noun
1.
another name for Maewo
Word Origin and History for Aurora

aurora

n.

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- "to shine," especially of the dawn (cf. Greek eos "dawn," auein "to dry, kindle;" Sanskrit usah, Lithuanian ausra "dawn;" Latin auster "south wind," usum "to burn;" Old English east "east").

Aurora in Science
aurora
  (ə-rôr'ə)   
Plural auroras or aurorae (ə-rôr'ē)
A brilliant display of bands or folds of variously colored light in the sky at night, especially in polar regions. Charged particles from the solar wind are channeled through the Earth's magnetic field into the polar regions. There the particles collide with atoms and molecules in the upper atmosphere, ionizing them and making them glow. Auroras are of greatest intensity and extent during periods of increased sunspot activity, when they often interfere with telecommunications on Earth. ◇ An aurora that occurs in southern latitudes is called an aurora australis (ô-strā'lĭs) or southern lights. When it occurs in northern latitudes it is called an aurora borealis (bôr'ē-āl'ĭs) or northern lights. See also magnetic storm.
Aurora in Technology


["The Aurora Or-Parallel Prolog System", E. Lusk et al, Proc 3rd Intl Conf on Fifth Generation Comp Systems, pp. 819-830, ICOT, A-W 1988].