Hypertext Webster Gateway: "aureole"
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Aureola \Au*re"o*la\, Aureole \Au"re*ole\, n. [F. aur['e]ole,
fr. L. aureola, (fem adj.) of gold (sc. corona crown), dim.
of aureus. See {Aureate}, {Oriole}.]
1. (R. C. Theol.) A celestial crown or accidental glory added
to the bliss of heaven, as a reward to those (as virgins,
martyrs, preachers, etc.) who have overcome the world, the
flesh, and the devil.
2. The circle of rays, or halo of light, with which painters
surround the figure and represent the glory of Christ,
saints, and others held in special reverence.
Note: Limited to the head, it is strictly termed a nimbus;
when it envelops the whole body, an aureola.
--Fairholt.
3. A halo, actual or figurative.
The glorious aureole of light seen around the sun
during total eclipses. --Proctor.
The aureole of young womanhood. --O. W.
Holmes.
4. (Anat.) See {Areola}, 2.
From WordNet (r) 1.7 (wn)
aureole
n : the outermost region of the sun's atmosphere; visible as a
white halo during a solar eclipse [syn: {corona}]
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