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aurora

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Au⋅ro⋅ra

[aw-rawr-uh, aw-rohr-uh, uh-rawr-uh, uh-rohr-uh]
–noun, plural Au⋅ro⋅ras, Au⋅ro⋅rae [uh-rawr-ee, uh-rohr-ee] for 2, 3.
1. the ancient Roman goddess of the dawn. Compare Eos.
2. (lowercase) dawn.
3. (lowercase) Meteorology. a radiant emission from the upper atmosphere that occurs sporadically over the middle and high latitudes of both hemispheres in the form of luminous bands, streamers, or the like, caused by the bombardment of the atmosphere with charged solar particles that are being guided along the earth's magnetic lines of force.
4. a city in central Colorado, near Denver. 158,588.
5. a city in NE Illinois. 81,293.
6. a female given name.

Origin:
1350–1400; ME < L aurōra dawn, dawn goddess, east
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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au·ro·ra   (ə-rôr'ə, ə-rōr'ə)   
n.   pl. au·ro·ras or au·ro·rae (ə-rôr'ē, ə-rōr'ē)
  1. A luminous atmospheric phenomenon appearing as streamers or bands of light sometimes visible in the night sky in northern or southern regions of the earth. It is thought to be caused by charged particles from the sun entering the earth's magnetic field and stimulating molecules in the atmosphere.

  2. The dawn.


[Middle English, dawn, from Latin aurōra; see aus- in Indo-European roots.]
au·ro'ral, au·ro're·an (-ē-ən) adj., au·ro'ral·ly adv.
Au·ro·ra 1   (ə-rôr'ə, ə-rōr'ə)   
n.   Roman Mythology
The goddess of the dawn.

[Latin Aurōra; see aurora.]
Au·ro·ra 2   (ə-rôr'ə, ə-rōr'ə)   
  1. A city of north-central Colorado, a residential suburb of Denver. Population: 304,000.

  2. A city of northeast Illinois on the Fox River west of Chicago. It is an industrial center and was one of the first U.S. cities to use electricity for street lighting. Population: 171,000.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

aurora 
c.1386, from L. Aurora, the Roman goddess of dawn, from PIE *ausus- "dawn," also the name of the Indo-European goddess of the dawn, from base *aus- "to shine," especially of the dawn (cf. Gk. eos "dawn," Skt. usah, Lith. ausra "dawn," L. auster "south wind," O.E. east "east"). Aurora Borealis first attested 1621, introduced by Gassendi.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Science Dictionary
aurora   (ə-rôr'ə)  Pronunciation Key 
Plural auroras or aurorae (ə-rôr'ē)
A brilliant display of bands or folds of variously colored light in the sky at night, especially in polar regions. Charged particles from the solar wind are channeled through the Earth's magnetic field into the polar regions. There the particles collide with atoms and molecules in the upper atmosphere, ionizing them and making them glow. Auroras are of greatest intensity and extent during periods of increased sunspot activity, when they often interfere with telecommunications on Earth. ◇ An aurora that occurs in southern latitudes is called an aurora australis (ô-strā'lĭs) or southern lights. When it occurs in northern latitudes it is called an aurora borealis (bôr'ē-āl'ĭs) or northern lights. See also magnetic storm.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
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Computing Dictionary

Aurora
["The Aurora Or-Parallel Prolog System", E. Lusk et al, Proc 3rd Intl Conf on Fifth Generation Comp Systems, pp. 819-830, ICOT, A-W 1988].

The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing, © 1993-2007 Denis Howe
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