aurora

C1 Topic:Astronomy & Space

US /əˈrɔrə/ UK /əˈrɔːrə/ See IPA manual

Freq #11572

Meanings

1

noun
a display of colored light in the polar sky caused by charged solar particles interacting with the upper atmosphere

The green bands of the aurora borealis brightened the northern horizon.
2

noun
the dawn or first light of day, especially in poetic use

A pale aurora spread across the eastern sky before sunrise.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a display of colored light... polar lightnorthern lightssouthern lights

2 noun · the dawn or first light of... dawn daybreak

Opposites

dusk nightfall

Word family

Forms auroral

Derived forms auroralaurorean

Related forms aurora borealisaurora australissolar winddawn

Etymology

From Latin aurora ("dawn"), also the name of the Roman goddess of dawn. The atmospheric sense arose because the luminous polar display resembles the glow of daybreak; borealis and australis distinguish the northern and southern auroras.

Topics

Astronomy & Space Register & Style General Vocabulary

External links

# aurora

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C1
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /əˈrɔrə/
**IPA (UK):** /əˈrɔːrə/
**Frequency rank:** 11572

## Meanings
1. a display of colored light in the polar sky caused by charged solar particles interacting with the upper atmosphere
2. the dawn or first light of day, especially in poetic use

## Examples
- The green bands of the aurora borealis brightened the northern horizon.
- A pale aurora spread across the eastern sky before sunrise.

## Synonyms
- polar light
- northern lights
- southern lights
- dawn
- daybreak

## Antonyms
- dusk
- nightfall

## Derived Forms
- auroral
- aurorean

## Related Forms
- aurora borealis
- aurora australis
- solar wind
- dawn

## Etymology
From Latin aurora ("dawn"), also the name of the Roman goddess of dawn. The atmospheric sense arose because the luminous polar display resembles the glow of daybreak; borealis and australis distinguish the northern and southern auroras.

## Topics
- Astronomy & Space
- Register & Style
- General Vocabulary

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