aura

C2+ Topic:Abstract Ideas

US /ˈɔrə/ UK /ˈɔːrə/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

noun
a distinctive atmosphere or quality surrounding a person or thing

An aura of calm authority followed the old judge into the room.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a distinctive atmosphere or... atmosphere ambience air quality feeling mystique emanation mood

Word family

Derived forms aural

Related forms aureateaureole

Simplified etymology

Aura came into late Middle English through Latin from a Greek word meaning “breeze” or “breath,” and it originally meant a gentle breeze. Its senses of a distinctive atmosphere or an emanation developed in the 18th century.

Etymology

From Latin aura ('breeze, breath, air'), from Ancient Greek aura ('breeze, gust of wind').

aura Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Abstract Ideas

External links

# aura

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /ˈɔrə/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈɔːrə/

## Meanings
1. a distinctive atmosphere or quality surrounding a person or thing

## Examples
- An aura of calm authority followed the old judge into the room.

## Synonyms
- atmosphere
- ambience
- air
- quality
- feeling
- mystique
- emanation
- mood

## Derived Forms
- aural

## Related Forms
- aureate
- aureole

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: aura

## Etymology
From Latin aura ('breeze, breath, air'), from Ancient Greek aura ('breeze, gust of wind').

## AI Etymology
aura comes from Latin aura ('breeze, breath, air'), from Ancient Greek aura ('breeze, gust of wind'). The path is chiefly one of transmission: an older form is taken into English, with the word's shape and meaning carried through the language names and forms preserved in the history. In modern use, the noun sense is "a distinctive atmosphere or quality surrounding a person or thing", which keeps the etymology connected to the word's present dictionary value rather than treating it as a merely historical label. The wider word family includes related English forms such as aureate, aureole and derivatives such as aural, showing how the same base continues to support neighboring English vocabulary. The principal historical forms in the chain include Latin aura, Ancient Greek aura, which anchor the explanation in named linguistic material.

## Topics
- Abstract Ideas

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