Aurora
/ɔːˈrɔː.rə/noun
The dawn; also the Roman goddess of dawn.
Did you know?Aurora comes from the same ancient Indo-European root as the Latin word for gold, which is why dawn has long been imagined as a kind of radiant, sacred light.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*h₂ews-
“to shine, dawn”
Proto-Italic
PIE
*ausōs
“dawn”
Latin
Latin
aurōra
“dawn; the personified goddess of dawn”
Late Latin
Latin
Aurora
“the dawn goddess in Roman tradition”
Modern English
English
aurora
“the dawn; especially the natural light display in the sky near the poles”