corona

co·ro·na

noun \kə-ˈrō-nə\

: a bright circle seen around the sun or the moon

Full Definition of CORONA

1

:  the projecting part of a classic cornice

2

a :  a usually colored circle often seen around and close to a luminous body (as the sun or moon) caused by diffraction produced by suspended droplets or occasionally particles of dust

b :  the tenuous outermost part of the atmosphere of a star (as the sun)

c :  a circle of light made by the apparent convergence of the streamers of the aurora borealis

d :  the upper portion of a bodily part (as a tooth or the skull)

e :  an appendage or series of united appendages on the inner side of the corolla in some flowers (as the daffodil, jonquil, or milkweed)

f :  a faint glow adjacent to the surface of an electrical conductor at high voltage

3

[from La Corona, a trademark] :  a long cigar having the sides straight to the end to be lit and being roundly blunt at the other end

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Illustration of CORONA

Origin of CORONA

Latin, garland, crown, cornice — more at crown

First Known Use: 1548

Rhymes with CORONA

Ancona, Bellona, Carmona, cinchona, madrone, Pamplona, persona, Pomona

Co·ro·na

geographical name \kə-ˈrō-nə\

Definition of CORONA

city S California E of Los Angeles pop 152,374

co·ro·na

noun \kə-ˈrō-nə\   (Medical Dictionary)

Medical Definition of CORONA

: the upper portion of a bodily part (as a tooth or the skull)

corona

noun    (Concise Encyclopedia)

Total solar eclipse. The delicately structured glow of the solar corona—or solar …—Copyright AURA Inc./National Optical Astronomy Observatories/National Science Foundation

Outermost region of the Sun's (or any star's) atmosphere, consisting of plasma. The Sun's corona has a temperature of about 3.6 million °F (2 million °C) and a very low density. Extending more than 8 million mi (13 million km) from the photosphere, it has no definite boundaries, continually varying in size and shape as it is affected by the Sun's magnetic field. The solar wind is formed by expansion of coronal gases. Only about half as bright as the full moon, the corona is overwhelmed by the brilliance of the solar surface and normally not visible to the unaided eye, but a total eclipse permits naked-eye observations.