nimbus

See also: Nimbus

English

WOTD – 1 December 2006

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin nimbus (“dark cloud”)

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈnɪmbəs/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɪmbəs

Noun

nimbus (plural nimbi or nimbuses)

1. A circle of light; a halo.
2. A gray rain cloud.

Usage notes

• (circle of light): In heraldry and art, a nimbus may be considered distinct from a halo. The term halo can refer to an open ring of light or of gold behind the head of a saint, while nimbus refers to a solid disk of light or gold.

Synonyms

• (circle of light): halo

Related terms

• nimbed

Translations

circle of light; halo

• Catalan: nimbe m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 暈 (zh), 晕 (zh) (yùn), 光環 (zh), 光环 (zh) (guānghuán), 光輪 (zh), 光轮 (zh) (guānglún), 圓光 (zh), 圆光 (zh) (yuánguāng)

• Dutch: nimbus (nl), halo (nl) m
• Finnish: sädekehä (fi)
• French: nimbe (fr) m
• German: Nimbus (de) m
• Italian: nimbo (it) m
• Japanese: 後光 (ごこう, gokō), 暈 (ja) (かさ, kasa), 光環 (ja) (こうかん, kōkan)

• Latin: nimbus (la) m
• Portuguese: nimbo (pt) m
• Russian: нимб (ru) m (nimb), орео́л (ru) m (oreól)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: нимбус m, ореол m, светокруг m, ауреола f, хало n

  Roman: nimbus (sh) m, oreol (sh) m, svetokrug (sh) m, aureola (sh) f, halo (sh) n

• Swedish: nimbus (sv) c
• Turkish: ayla (tr), hale (tr)
• Welsh: lleugylch m

rain cloud

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 雨雲 (zh), 雨云 (zh) (yǔyún)

• Dutch: nimbus (nl) m
• Finnish: sadepilvi, nimbus (fi)
• French: nimbus (fr) m
• German: Nimbus (de) m
• Japanese: 雨雲 (ja) (あまぐも, amagumo)
• Latin: nimbus (la) m

• Maori: okewa, kēkēao
• Portuguese: nimbo (pt) m
• Russian: дождево́е о́блако n (doždevóje óblako)
• Spanish: nimbo (es) m
• Tagalog: dagim, ulaning alapaap
• Turkish: yağmur bulutu (tr)
• Welsh: nimbws m

See also

• halo

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Latin

Etymology

From Proto-Indo-European *nébʰos (“cloud”). Cognates include Latin nebula, Proto-Slavic *nebo (“heaven, sky”), Sanskrit नभस् (nábhas, “sky”) and Ancient Greek νέφος (néphos).

Pronunciation

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /ˈnim.bus/, [ˈnɪm.bʊs]

Noun

nimbus m (genitive nimbī); second declension

1. rainstorm, rain shower
2. rain cloud, thunder cloud
3. cloud
4. halo (visible aura of divine power)
5. throng
6. (figuratively) calamity, tempest

Inflection

Second declension.

Case	Singular	Plural
nominative	nimbus	nimbī
genitive	nimbī	nimbōrum
dative	nimbō	nimbīs
accusative	nimbum	nimbōs
ablative	nimbō	nimbīs
vocative	nimbe	nimbī

Descendants

• Catalan: nimbus
• English: nimbus
• French: nimbe
• Istriot: nenbo
• Italian: nembo, nimbo

• Portuguese: nimbo
• Russian: нимб (nimb)
• Spanish: nimbo
• Venetian: nenbo

See also

• nebula
• nūbēs
• nūbifer
• nūbigena
• nūbilum
• nūbilus

References

• nimbus in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• nimbus in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• nimbus in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition, 1883–1887)
• nimbus in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire Illustré Latin-Français, Hachette

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Serbo-Croatian

Noun

nimbus m (Cyrillic spelling нимбус)

1. (religion) halo
2. nimbus

Synonyms

• oreol