corona1

 
Pronunciation: /kəˈrəʊnə/

noun (plural coronae /-niː/)

  • 1 Astronomy the rarefied gaseous envelope of the sun and other stars. The sun’s corona is normally visible only during a total solar eclipse, when it is seen as an irregularly shaped pearly glow surrounding the darkened disc of the moon.
  • (also corona discharge) Physics the glow around a conductor at high potential.
  • a small circle of light seen round the sun or moon, due to diffraction by water droplets.
  • 2 Anatomy a crown or crown-like structure.
  • 3 Botany the cup-shaped or trumpet-shaped outgrowth at the centre of a daffodil or narcissus flower.
  • 4a circular chandelier in a church.
  • 5 Architecture a part of a cornice having a broad vertical face.

Origin:

mid 16th century (in corona1 (sense 5)): from Latin, 'wreath, crown'