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au·re·ole

(ôrē-ōl′) also au·re·o·la (ô-rēə-lə)

1. A circular or oval light surrounding the head or body of a representation of a deity or holy person; a halo.

2. Astronomy See corona.

[Middle English, from Late Latin (corōna) aureola, golden (crown), feminine of Latin aureolus, golden, from aureus, from aurum, gold.]

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aureole

3rd-century Pakistani sculpture of the Bodhisattva Maitreya

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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