aurora

plural auroras · plural aurorae

1. An atmospheric phenomenon created by charged particles from the sun striking the upper atmosphere, creating coloured lights in the sky. It is usually named australis or borealis based on whether it is in the Southern or Northern Hemisphere respectively.

   1 more example

   On the evening of our arrival at Muka I observed what appeared like a display of Aurora Borealis, though I could hardly believe that this was possible at a point a little south of the equator. The night was clear and calm, and the northern sky presented a diffused light, with a constant succession of faint vertical flashings or flickerings, exactly similar to an ordinary aurora in England.

   1869, Alfred Russel Wallace, The Malay Archipelago, volume II, London: Macmillan and Co., page 354

   Synonyms: chasma, polar light

2. The Roman goddess of the dawn, equivalent to the Greek Ἠώς (Ēṓs).
3. The dawn or early morning light itself; the first light of day.

   Synonyms: dawn, daybreak, sunrise

1. Romanhuman sciencesRoman goddess of the dawn; equivalent of the Greek Eos. Sister of Luna and Sol.

   As faire Aurora in her purple pall, / Out of the East the dawning day doth call […]

   1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book I, Canto IV”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC, stanza 16

2. A female given name from Latin, in regular use since the 19th century.

   1 more example

   How will they know! Why, my name is all over them: my silly, unhappy name. Oh, if I had only been christened Mary Jane, or Gladys, Muriel, or Beatrice, or Francesca, or Guinevere, or something quite common. But Aurora! Aurora! I'm the only Aurora in London; and everybody knows it. I believe I'm the only Aurora in the world. And it's so horribly easy to rhyme to it!

   1904, George Bernard Shaw, How He Lied to Her Husband

3. astronomy94 Aurora, a main belt asteroid.
4. governmentthe Russian cruiser Aurora, a cruiser of Soviet Navy.
5. poeticthe dawn
6. A town in Ontario, Canada; named for the goddess.
7. A town in the Western Cape, South Africa; named for the goddess.
8. A town in Suriname.
9. A province of Central Luzon, Philippines; named after First Lady Aurora Quezon. Capital: Baler.
10. A suburb of Melbourne, Australia.
11. A historical district of Turin, Italy.
12. A locale in Brazil.
    1. A municipality of Ceará.
    2. A municipality of Santa Catarina.
13. A locale in the Philippines.
    1. A municipality of Isabela.
    2. A municipality of Zamboanga del Sur; named after Aurora Quezon.
14. A locale in the United States:
    1. An unincorporated community in Arkansas.
    2. An unincorporated community in California.
    3. A large city in Arapahoe County, Adams County and Douglas County, Colorado; named for the goddess.

       “Based on our initial investigative work, we believe reports of TdA influence in Aurora are isolated, police said in an August 28 statement.

       2024 September 11, Caitlin Stephen Hu, Rafael Romo and Belisa Morillo, “How an empty apartment complex in Colorado became a national battleground over immigration”, in CNN

    4. A city mainly in DuPage County and Kane County, Illinois, and suburb of Chicago; named for the goddess.
    5. A city in Indiana; named for the goddess.
    6. A city in Iowa; named for the village of East Aurora, New York.
    7. A city in Kansas; named for the city in Illinois.
    8. An unincorporated community in Kentucky.
    9. A neighborhood of New Orleans, Louisiana.
    10. A rural town in Hancock County, Maine; named for the goddess.
    11. A city in Saint Louis County, Minnesota.
    12. A city in Missouri; named for the goddess.
    13. A city, the county seat of Hamilton County, Nebraska; named for the city in Illinois.
    14. A ghost town in Nevada; named for the goddess.
    15. A village in the town of Ledyard, Cayuga County, New York.
    16. A town in Erie County, New York.
    17. A town in North Carolina.
    18. A city in Ohio.
    19. A city in Oregon; named for the daughter of the founder, Prussian-American mystic William Keil.
    20. A town in South Dakota; named for the city in Illinois.
    21. A city in Texas.
    22. A city in Utah; named for the aurora borealis seen in the area.
    23. A census-designated place in West Virginia.
    24. A town in Florence County, Wisconsin.
    25. A town in Waushara County, Wisconsin.
    26. A town in Taylor County, Wisconsin.
    27. An unincorporated community in Washington County, Wisconsin.
    28. A ghost town in Kenosha County, Wisconsin.
15. historicalMaewo (an island of Vanuatu).
16. historicalMakatea (an island of French Polynesia).