coronal

[ noun kawr-uh-nl, kor-; adjective kuh-rohn-l, kawr-uh-nl, kor- ]

noun

1. a crown; coronet.
2. a garland.

adjective

1. of or relating to a coronal.
2. Anatomy.
   1. of or relating to a corona.
   2. (of a plane along the long axis of the body) lying in the direction of the coronal suture.
   3. Also lying in the direction of the frontal plane.
3. Phonetics. (of a speech sound) articulated with the tip of the tongue, especially in a retroflex position.
4. Linguistics. (in distinctive feature analysis) articulated with the blade of the tongue raised; dental, alveolar, or palato-alveolar.
5. of or relating to the tip of the tongue.

coronal

noun

1. poetic.
   a circlet for the head; crown
2. a wreath or garland
3. anatomy short for coronal suture

adjective

1. of or relating to a corona or coronal
2. phonetics a less common word for retroflex

Other Words From

• coro·naled especially British, coro·nalled adjective
• co·ronal·ly adverb
• nonco·ronal adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of coronal¹

1300–50; Middle English < Latin corōnālis, equivalent to Latin corōn ( a ) crown + -ālis -al ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of coronal¹

C16: from Late Latin corōnālis belonging to a crown

Example Sentences

This time around there is only one coronal mass ejection and experts believe the duration of the event will be much shorter.

From Los Angeles Times

The most impressive auroras occur when the Sun emits really large clouds of particles called coronal mass ejections.

From BBC

But when larger quantities of plasma are released, in the form of a coronal mass ejection, it can also be hazardous, causing significant damage to satellites and communications systems.

From Science Daily

The sun’s intense magnetic energy is the source of solar flares and eruptions of plasma known as coronal mass ejections.

From Seattle Times

It follows nearly a week of flares and mass ejections of coronal plasma that threatened to disrupt power and communications on Earth and in orbit.

From Seattle Times

Related Words

• bouquet
• garland