aureole
/ˈɔːrɪəʊl
/(also aureola /ɔːˈrɪələ/)
noun
1A circle of light or brightness surrounding something, especially as depicted in art around the head or body of a person represented as holy: her hair framed her face in a golden aureole...
- The prominently depicted hen and rooster form the brightest spot in the foreground, as they are encircled by an aureole of light.
- Facing them, the rest of us could see little but shadowy faces, surrounded by bright aureoles.
- She rubs pigment into engraved lines and allows this to produce a slick aureole around the image.
1.1A corona around the sun or moon.Another vivid feature seen in an eclipse is the corona (or aureola).
2 another term for areola.Doing so can compromise blood flow to the nipple and lead to complications, such as necrosis of the skin along the incisions or nipple or aureole necrosis....
- Her breasts were small and firm, encircled by wide purple-brown aureoles.
3 Geology The zone of metamorphosed rock surrounding an igneous intrusion.Metamorphic aureoles around the granitic rocks are estimated to extend on the order of 1 km from the granitic rocks....
- This is the widest metamorphic zone in the aureole.
- A thermal metamorphic aureole is developed in the sedimentary country rocks.
Origin
Middle English: from Old French aureole, from Latin aureola (corona) 'golden (crown)', feminine of aureolus (diminutive of aureus, from aurum 'gold').