aurora
/ˈɔːrə/
noun
Origin
Latin
aurōra — dawn
Overview
Meaning Now
- dawn; the first appearance of light in the sky before sunrise
- the Roman goddess of the dawn
- a luminous atmospheric phenomenon caused by charged particles from the Sun, especially in polar regions (the aurora borealis or aurora australis)
Language path
Proto-Indo-European → Proto-Italic → Latin → English
Earliest form
*h₂éwsōs
Earliest period
Proto-Indo-European
Journey
The word entered English via Latin, originally a personification of dawn in Roman mythology. It later gained a scientific sense in the 19th century when the atmospheric phenomenon was named after the goddess.
Evolution
- Proto-Indo-European
*h₂éwsōs
“dawn”
root meaning of daybreak
- Proto-Italic
*auzōs
“dawn”
a‑extension before Latin
- Latin
aurōra
“dawn, goddess of dawn”
borrowed from Proto-Italic
- English
aurora
“dawn, auroral light”
borrowed via Old French/Latin
Connections
Word parts
aurōra
root
dawn
Related across languages
Latin
aurōra
dawn
Greek
ἠώς
dawn
Sanskrit
उषस्
dawn
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Related to aurora
External references use DefinedTerm semantics.