aurora

See also: Aurora, auroră, aurorą, and Aurorą

English

An aurora seen above Bear Lake, Alaska, USA

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin aurōra (“dawn”). Doublet of Eos.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /əˈɹɔː.ɹə/, /ɔːˈɹɔː.ɹə/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• (US) IPA^(key): /əˈɹɔɹ.ə/, /ɔˈɹɔɹ.ə/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Hyphenation: au‧ror‧a
• Rhymes: -ɔːɹə

Noun

aurora (plural auroras or aurorae)

1. An atmospheric phenomenon created by charged particles from the sun striking the upper atmosphere, creating coloured lights in the sky. It is usually named australis or borealis based on whether it is in the Southern or Northern Hemisphere respectively.

   Synonyms: chasma (obsolete, rare), polar light

2. The Roman goddess of the dawn, equivalent to the Greek Ἠώς (Ēṓs).
3. The dawn or early morning light itself; the first light of day.

   Synonyms: dawn, daybreak, sunrise

Hyponyms

• (Northern Hemisphere): aurora borealis, northern lights
• (Southern Hemisphere): aurora australis, southern lights

Derived terms

• aurora australis
• aurora bluetail
• aurora borealis
• aurora-colored, aurora-coloured
• aurora glass
• Aurora Hill
• auroral
• auroraphobia
• aurora sauce
• aurora yellow
• aurorean
• black aurora

Descendants

• → Japanese: オーロラ (ōrora)
• → Korean: 오로라 (orora)
• → Persian: ارورا (ororâ)
• → Thai: ออโรรา (ɔɔ-roo-râa)

Translations

atmospheric phenomenon

• Albanian: aurorë (sq)
• Arabic: شَفَق قُطْبِيّ m (šafaq quṭbiyy)
• Bashkir: һаҙағай (haźağay)
• Bulgarian: се́верно сия́ние n (séverno sijánie)
• Catalan: aurora (ca) f polar
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 極光 / 极光 (zh) (jíguāng)

• Czech: polární záře (cs) f
• Danish: polarlys n
• Dutch: poollicht (nl) n
• Esperanto: aŭroro
• Estonian: virmalised pl
• Faroese: pólalýsi n
• Finnish: revontulet (fi) pl
• French: aurore boréale (fr) f
• Galician: aurora (gl) f
• German: Polarlicht (de) n
• Greek: σέλας (el) n (sélas)
• Hebrew: זֹהַר הַקֹּטֶב (he) m (zóhar haqótev)
• Hungarian: sarki fény (hu)
• Icelandic: segulljós (is) n pl
• Ido: auroro (io)
• Ingrian: revontulet
• Irish: gealán m
• Japanese: 極光 (ja) (きょくこう, kyokukō), オーロラ (ja) (ōrora)
• Korean: 극광(極光) (ko) (geukgwang), 오로라 (ko) (orora)
• Latgalian: pūstumdzīsna, polardzīsna, sarkanis pl
• Latin: aurōra (la) f
• Latvian: ziemeļblāzma, polārblāzma, kāvi
• Macedonian: авро́ра f (avróra)
• Mansi:

  Northern Mansi: ^{(please verify)} сисьной (sisʹnoj)

• Māori: tahunuiarangi, tahu-nui-a-rangi, ngā kurakura o Hinenuitepō
• Norwegian: polarlys n
• Persian: ارورا (ororâ), شفق قطبی (fa) (šafaq-e qotbi), اوشه (uše)
• Polish: zorza polarna (pl) f, aurora (pl) f, zorza poranna f
• Portuguese: aurora (pt) f
• Romanian: auroră polară (ro) f
• Russian: поля́рное сия́ние (ru) n (poljárnoje sijánije), се́верное сия́ние (ru) n (sévernoje sijánije) (northern lights)
• Spanish: aurora (es) f
• Swedish: polarsken (sv) n
• Thai: ออโรรา (th) (ɔɔ-roo-râa)
• Turkish: kutup ışığı
• Ukrainian: поля́рне ся́йво n (poljárne sjájvo)
• Uyghur: قۇتۇپ نۇرى (qutup nuri)
• Vietnamese: cực quang (vi)

Further reading

• aurora on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Anagrams

• aroura

Catalan

Etymology

Learned borrowing from Latin aurōra.

Pronunciation

• Audio (Barcelona):

  (file)

Noun

aurora f (plural aurores)

1. dawn

   Synonym: alba

2. sunrise
3. aurora

Derived terms

• aurora austral
• aurora boreal
• aurora polar
• auroral

Further reading

• “aurora”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2026

Finnish

Etymology

From Latin aurōra.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈɑu̯ro(ː)rɑ/, [ˈɑ̝u̯ro̞(ː)rɑ̝]
• Rhymes: -ɑurorɑ
• Syllabification^(key): au‧ro‧ra
• Hyphenation^(key): au‧ro‧ra

Noun

aurora

1. synonym of auroraperhonen (“orange tip butterfly”)

Declension

Inflection of aurora (Kotus type 10/koira, no gradation)
nominative		aurora	aurorat
genitive		auroran	aurorien
partitive		auroraa	auroria
illative		auroraan	auroriin
		singular	plural
nominative		aurora	aurorat
accusative	nom.	aurora	aurorat
	gen.	auroran
genitive		auroran	aurorien aurorain rare
partitive		auroraa	auroria
inessive		aurorassa	aurorissa
elative		aurorasta	aurorista
illative		auroraan	auroriin
adessive		auroralla	aurorilla
ablative		auroralta	aurorilta
allative		auroralle	aurorille
essive		aurorana	aurorina
translative		auroraksi	auroriksi
abessive		auroratta	auroritta
instructive		—	aurorin
comitative		See the possessive forms below.

Possessive forms of aurora (Kotus type 10/koira, no gradation)

first-person singular possessor singular plural nominative aurorani aurorani accusative nom. aurorani aurorani gen. aurorani genitive aurorani aurorieni auroraini rare partitive auroraani auroriani inessive aurorassani aurorissani elative aurorastani auroristani illative auroraani auroriini adessive aurorallani aurorillani ablative auroraltani auroriltani allative auroralleni aurorilleni essive auroranani aurorinani translative aurorakseni aurorikseni abessive aurorattani aurorittani instructive — — comitative — aurorineni second-person singular possessor singular plural nominative aurorasi aurorasi accusative nom. aurorasi aurorasi gen. aurorasi genitive aurorasi auroriesi auroraisi rare partitive auroraasi auroriasi inessive aurorassasi aurorissasi elative aurorastasi auroristasi illative auroraasi auroriisi adessive aurorallasi aurorillasi ablative auroraltasi auroriltasi allative aurorallesi aurorillesi essive auroranasi aurorinasi translative auroraksesi auroriksesi abessive aurorattasi aurorittasi instructive — — comitative — aurorinesi first-person plural possessor singular plural nominative auroramme auroramme accusative nom. auroramme auroramme gen. auroramme genitive auroramme auroriemme auroraimme rare partitive auroraamme auroriamme inessive aurorassamme aurorissamme elative aurorastamme auroristamme illative auroraamme auroriimme adessive aurorallamme aurorillamme ablative auroraltamme auroriltamme allative aurorallemme aurorillemme essive auroranamme aurorinamme translative auroraksemme auroriksemme abessive aurorattamme aurorittamme instructive — — comitative — aurorinemme second-person plural possessor singular plural nominative auroranne auroranne accusative nom. auroranne auroranne gen. auroranne genitive auroranne aurorienne aurorainne rare partitive auroraanne aurorianne inessive aurorassanne aurorissanne elative aurorastanne auroristanne illative auroraanne auroriinne adessive aurorallanne aurorillanne ablative auroraltanne auroriltanne allative aurorallenne aurorillenne essive aurorananne aurorinanne translative auroraksenne auroriksenne abessive aurorattanne aurorittanne instructive — — comitative — aurorinenne third-person possessor singular plural nominative auroransa auroransa accusative nom. auroransa auroransa gen. auroransa genitive auroransa auroriensa aurorainsa rare partitive auroraansa auroriaan auroriansa inessive aurorassaan aurorassansa aurorissaan aurorissansa elative aurorastaan aurorastansa auroristaan auroristansa illative auroraansa auroriinsa adessive aurorallaan aurorallansa aurorillaan aurorillansa ablative auroraltaan auroraltansa auroriltaan auroriltansa allative auroralleen aurorallensa aurorilleen aurorillensa essive auroranaan auroranansa aurorinaan aurorinansa translative aurorakseen auroraksensa aurorikseen auroriksensa abessive aurorattaan aurorattansa aurorittaan aurorittansa instructive — — comitative — aurorineen aurorinensa

Derived terms

compounds

• auroraperhonen

Further reading

• “aurora”, in Kielitoimiston sanakirja [Dictionary of Contemporary Finnish]‎^[1] (in Finnish) (online dictionary, continuously updated), Kotimaisten kielten keskuksen verkkojulkaisuja 35, Helsinki: Kotimaisten kielten tutkimuskeskus (Institute for the Languages of Finland), 2004–, retrieved 2 July 2023

Italian

Etymology

From Latin aurōra, from an ā-stem extension of Proto-Italic *auzōs, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂éwsōs.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /awˈrɔ.ra/
• Rhymes: -ɔra
• Hyphenation: au‧rò‧ra

Noun

aurora f (plural aurore)

1. aurora
2. dawn, sunrise

   Synonym: alba

   Antonym: tramonto

   • 1816, Gioachino Rossini, Cesare Sterbini, “Ecco, ridente in cielo”, in Il barbiere di Siviglia:

     Ecco, ridente in cielo spunta la bella aurora, e tu non sorgi ancora e puoi dormir cosi'?

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

Related terms

• aurora boreale
• aurorale

See also

times of day: parti del giornoedit

• aurora
• alba
• mane
• mattino ~ mattina
• mezzogiorno
• pomeriggio
• tramonto
• crepuscolo
• sera
• vespro
• notte
• mezzanotte

Latin

Etymology

From an a-extension of Proto-Indo-European *h₂éwsōs (“dawn”) (as Flōra from flōs, from *h₂ews- (“east”). In the Proto-Indo-European religion it was personified as the goddess of the dawn, corresponding to the Roman goddess Aurōra. De Vaan suggests that the term passed through a Proto-Italic intermediary *auzōs. However, the EIEC suggests a Proto-Indo-European form *h₂éwsōseh₂, implying that—according the EIEC—the a-extension could have already occurred before the Proto-Italic period. Cognates include the Latin auster, Ancient Greek ἠώς (ēṓs), Sanskrit उषस् (uṣás, “dawn”, “Ushas”), and the English east.

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): [au̯ˈroː.ra]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): [au̯ˈrɔː.ra]

Noun

aurōra f (genitive aurōrae); first declension

1. dawn, sunrise

   Synonym: lūx

Declension

First-declension noun.

	singular	plural
nominative	aurōra	aurōrae
genitive	aurōrae	aurōrārum
dative	aurōrae	aurōrīs
accusative	aurōram	aurōrās
ablative	aurōrā	aurōrīs
vocative	aurōra	aurōrae

Coordinate terms

times of day: partēs diēīedit

• aurōra
• māne
• merīdiēs
• vesper
• crepusculum
• nox
• media nox

Derived terms

• aurōreus

Related terms

• Aurōra

Descendants

• Italo-Romance:
  • Sicilian: agruna (dialectal)

Borrowings:

• → Albanian: aurorë
• → Catalan: aurora
• → English: aurora (see there for further descendants)
• → Esperanto: aŭroro
  • → Ido: auroro
• → Finnish: aurora
• → French: aurore
• → Galician: aurora
• → German: Aurora
• → Italian: aurora
• → Macedonian: авро́ра (avróra)
• → Polish: aurora
• → Portuguese: aurora
• → Romanian: auroră
• → Russian: авро́ра (avróra)
• → Spanish: aurora
  • → Cebuano: awrora
• → Ukrainian: авро́ра (avróra)

References

• “aurora”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “aurora”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891), An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• "aurora", in Charles du Fresne du Cange, Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition with additions by D. P. Carpenterius, Adelungius and others, edited by Léopold Favre, 1883–1887)
• “aurora”, in Gaffiot, Félix (1934), Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.
• “aurora”, in Harry Thurston Peck, editor (1898), Harper’s Dictionary of Classical Antiquities, New York: Harper & Brothers
• “aurora”, in William Smith, editor (1848), A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology, London: John Murray

Polish

aurora

Etymology

Learned borrowing from Latin aurōra. Doublet of Eos.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /awˈrɔ.ra/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɔra
• Syllabification: au‧ro‧ra
• Homophone: Aurora

Noun

aurora f

1. (poetic) red sky at morning (term for the brightening sky just before sunrise, when the sky takes on a yellow-orange color on the horizon)

   Synonyms: jutrzenka, jutrznia, zorza poranna

Declension

Declension of aurora

	singular	plural
nominative	aurora	aurory
genitive	aurory	auror
dative	aurorze	aurorom
accusative	aurorę	aurory
instrumental	aurorą	aurorami
locative	aurorze	aurorach
vocative	auroro	aurory

Further reading

• aurora in Polish dictionaries at PWN

Portuguese

aurora

Etymology

Learned borrowing from Latin aurōra (“dawn, sunrise”), from the Proto-Indo-European *h₂éwsōs (“dawn”).

Pronunciation

 

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /awˈɾɔ.ɾɐ/ [aʊ̯ˈɾɔ.ɾɐ]

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /awˈɾɔ.ɾɐ/ [aʊ̯ˈɾɔ.ɾɐ]
  • (Southern Brazil) IPA^(key): /awˈɾɔ.ɾa/ [aʊ̯ˈɾɔ.ɾa]

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /awˈɾɔ.ɾɐ/

• Hyphenation: au‧ro‧ra

Noun

aurora f (plural auroras)

1. dawn; daybreak
2. clipping of aurora boreal
3. (poetic) Orient

Further reading

• “aurora”, in Dicionário Aulete Digital (in Portuguese), Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon Editora Digital, 2008–2026
• “aurora”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2026

Romanian

Noun

aurora f

1. definite nominative/accusative singular of auroră

Spanish

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin aurōra.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /auˈɾoɾa/ [au̯ˈɾo.ɾa]

• Audio (Venezuela):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -oɾa
• Syllabification: au‧ro‧ra

Noun

aurora f (plural auroras)

1. aurora
2. dawn

   Synonyms: alba, amanecer, madrugada

Derived terms

• aurora austral
• aurora boreal

Related terms

• auroral

Further reading

• “aurora”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025