aurora borealis

English

An aurora borealis in Alaska

Etymology

Learned borrowing from New Latin aurōra boreālis (literally “northern dawn”).

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /əˌɹɔːɹ.ə ˈbɔːɹ.i.æl.ɪs/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

Noun

aurora borealis

1. The aurora of the northern hemisphere.

   Synonyms: northern dawn, northern lights, aurora septentrionalis

   Coordinate terms: aurora australis, southern lights

   • 1996 April 14, Bill Oakley, “22 Short Films About Springfield” (02:12 from the start), in The Simpsons, season 7, episode 21, spoken by Superintendent Chalmers and Principal Skinner (Hank Azaria and Harry Shearer), segment "Skinner & The Superintendent", production code 3F18:

     Superintendent Chalmers: Yes, I should be— Good Lord what is happening in there!?
     Principal Skinner: Aurora borealis.
     Superintendent Chalmers: Uh— Aurora borealis, at this time of year, at this time of day, in this part of the country, localized entirely within your kitchen?
     Principal Skinner: Yes.
     Superintendent Chalmers: May I see it?
     Principal Skinner: No.

   • 2023 November 15, Jim Wild, “This train was delayed because of bad weather in space”, in RAIL, number 996, page 30:

     A common and beautiful side-effect of high solar activity is the Aurora Borealis - the northern lights that dance across Arctic skies.

Translations

aurora of the northern hemisphere — see northern lights