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nimbi

 - 9 dictionary results

nim⋅bus

  [nim-buhs]
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–noun, plural -bi  [-bahy] , -bus⋅es.
1. Classical Mythology. a shining cloud sometimes surrounding a deity when on earth.
2. a cloud, aura, atmosphere, etc., surrounding a person or thing: The candidate was encompassed with a nimbus of fame.
3. halo (def. 1).
4. the type of dense clouds or cloud mass with ragged edges, that yields rain or snow; a rain cloud.
5. (initial capital letter) U.S. Aerospace. one of a series of polar-orbiting meteorological and environmental research satellites, the last of which Nimbus 7, launched 1978, was the first satellite designed to monitor atmospheric pollutants.
Origin:
1610–20; < L: a rainstorm, rain cloud, thundercloud, cloud; akin to L nebula and Gk nephélē, néphos cloud

Related forms:
nimbused, adjective

ha⋅lo

  [hey-loh] noun, plural -los, -loes, verb, -loed, -lo⋅ing.
–noun
1. Also called nimbus. a geometric shape, usually in the form of a disk, circle, ring, or rayed structure, traditionally representing a radiant light around or above the head of a divine or sacred personage, an ancient or medieval monarch, etc.
2. an atmosphere or quality of glory, majesty, sanctity, or the like: the halo around Shakespeare's works; She put a halo around her son.
3. Meteorology. any of a variety of bright circles or arcs centered on the sun or moon, caused by the refraction or reflection of light by ice crystals suspended in the earth's atmosphere and exhibiting prismatic coloration ranging from red inside to blue outside (distinguished from corona ).
4. Astronomy. a spherical cloud of gas clusters and stars that form part of a spiral galaxy.
5. an undesirable bright or dark ring surrounding an image on the fluorescent screen of a television tube, due to some fault either in transmission or reception.
–verb (used with object)
6. to surround with a halo.
–verb (used without object)
7. to form a halo.
Origin:
1555–65; < L, acc. of halōs circle round sun or moon < Gk hálōs such a circle, disk, orig. threshing floor
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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nim·bus   (nĭm'bəs)   
n.   pl. nim·bi (-bī') or nim·bus·es

  1. A cloudy radiance said to surround a classical deity when on earth.

  2. A radiant light that appears usually in the form of a circle or halo about or over the head in the representation of a god, demigod, saint, or sacred person such as a king or an emperor.

  3. A splendid atmosphere or aura, as of glamour, that surrounds a person or thing.

  4. A rain cloud, especially a low dark layer of clouds such as a nimbostratus.


[Latin, cloud; see nebh- in Indo-European roots.]
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

halo 
1563, from L. halo (acc.), from Gk. halos "disk of the sun or moon, ring of light around the sun or moon" (also "threshing floor" and "disk of a shield"), of unknown origin. Sense of "light around the head of a holy person or deity" first recorded 1646.

nimbus 
1616, "bright cloud surrounding a god," from L. nimbus "cloud," perhaps related to nebula "cloud, mist" (see nebula). Meaning "halo" is first recorded c.1730. Meteorological sense of "a rain cloud" is from 1803. Nimbostratus in the modern sense first attested 1932.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: ha·lo
Pronunciation: 'hA-(")lO
Function: noun
Inflected Form: plural halos or haloes
1 : acircle of light appearing to surround a luminous body; especially : one seen as the result of the presence of glaucoma
2 : a differentiated zone surrounding acentral object halo around a boil>
3 : the aura of glory, veneration, or sentiment surrounding an idealized person or thing
4 : an orthopedicdevice used to immobilize the head and neck (as to treat fracture of neck vertebrae) that consists of a metal band placed around the head and fastened to the skull usually with metal pins and that isattached by extensions to an inflexible vest called also halo brace
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Medical Dictionary

halo ha·lo (hā'lō)
n. pl. ha·los or ha·loes

  1. A reddish yellow ring surrounding the optic disk, caused by an expansion of the scleral ring that makes the deeper structures visible.

  2. Glaucomatous halo.

  3. A ring of light surrounding a luminous body.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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Science Dictionary
halo   (hā'lō)  Pronunciation Key 
A hazy ring of colored light in the sky around the Sun, Moon, or a similar bright object. A halo is caused by the reflection and refraction of light through atmospheric ice crystals.
nimbus   (nĭm'bəs)  Pronunciation Key 
Plural nimbi (nĭm'bī') or nimbuses
A rain cloud.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
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