| The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000. |
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| aurora |
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| SYLLABICATION: | au·ro·ra |
| PRONUNCIATION: |   -rôr , -r r |
| NOUN: | Inflected forms: pl. au·ro·ras or au·ro·rae ( -rôr , -rr)
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. | | ETYMOLOGY: | Middle English, dawn, from Latin aurra. See aus- in Appendix I. | | OTHER FORMS: | au·roral, au·rore·an (--n) —ADJECTIVE
au·roral·ly —ADVERB
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| The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by the Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. |
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