Definify.com
Webster 1913 Edition
Aurora
Au-ro′ra
,Noun.
pl. E.
Auroras
, L. (rarely used) Auroræ
. [L.
aurora
, for ausosa
, akin to Gr. [GREEK], [GREEK], dawn, Skr. ushas
, and E. east
.] 1.
The rising light of the morning; the dawn of day; the redness of the sky just before the sun rises.
2.
The rise, dawn, or beginning.
Hawthorne.
3.
(Class. Myth.)
The Roman personification of the dawn of day; the goddess of the morning. The poets represented her a rising out of the ocean, in a chariot, with rosy fingers dropping gentle dew.
4.
(Bot.)
A species of crowfoot.
Johnson.
5.
The aurora borealis or aurora australis (northern or southern lights).
Aurora borealis
, i. e., northern daybreak; popularly called northern lights. A luminous meteoric phenomenon, visible only at night, and supposed to be of electrical origin. This species of light usually appears in streams, ascending toward the zenith from a dusky line or bank, a few degrees above the northern horizon; when reaching south beyond the zenith, it forms what is called the corona, about a spot in the heavens toward which the dipping needle points. Occasionally the aurora appears as an arch of light across the heavens from east to west. Sometimes it assumes a wavy appearance, and the streams of light are then called merry dancers. They assume a variety of colors, from a pale red or yellow to a deep red or blood color.
The Aurora australis
is a corresponding phenomenon in the southern hemisphere, the streams of light ascending in the same manner from near the southern horizon.
Webster 1828 Edition
Aurora
AURO'RA
,Noun.
1.
The rising light of the morning; the dawn of day, or morning twilight.2.
The goddess of the morning, or twilight deified by fancy. The poets represented her as rising out of the ocean, in a chariot, with rosy fingers dropping gentle dew.3.
A species of crowfoot.Aurora Borealis, or lumen boreale; northern twilight. This species of light usually appears in streams, ascending towards the zenith from a dusky line a few degrees above the horizon. sometimes it assumes a wavy appearance, as in America, in March 1782, when it overspread the whole hemisphere. Sometimes it appears in detached places; at other times, it almost covers the hemisphere. As the streams of light have a tremulous motion, they are called, in the Shetland isles, merry dancers. They assume all shapes, and a variety of colors, from a pale red or yellow to a deep red or blood color; and in the northern latitudes, serve to illuminate the earth and cheer the gloom of long winter nights. This light is sometimes near the earth. It is said to have been seen between the spectator and a distant mountain.