nimbus

American  

[nim-buhs] / ˈnɪm bəs /

noun

plural

nimbi, nimbuses

1. Classical Mythology. a shining cloud sometimes surrounding a deity when on earth.

2. a cloud, aura, atmosphere, etc., surrounding a person or thing.

   The candidate was encompassed with a nimbus of fame.

3. halo.

4. the type of dense clouds or cloud mass with ragged edges, that yields rain or snow; a rain cloud.

5. (initial capital letter) one of a series of polar-orbiting meteorological and environmental research satellites, the last of which Nimbus 7, launched 1978, was the first satellite designed to monitor atmospheric pollutants.

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nimbus British  

/ ˈnɪmbəs /

noun

1. 1. a dark grey rain-bearing cloud

   2. ( in combination )

      cumulonimbus clouds

2. 1. an emanation of light surrounding a saint or deity

   2. a representation of this emanation

3. a surrounding aura or atmosphere

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nimbus Scientific  

/ nĭm′bəs /

plural

nimbi

1. A rain cloud.

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Other Word Forms

• nimbused adjective

Etymology

Origin of nimbus

First recorded in 1600–10; from Latin, “rainstorm, rain cloud, thundercloud, cloud”; akin to Latin nebula and Greek nephélē, néphos “cloud,” and Slavic ( Polish ) niebo “sky, heaven”

Explanation

A nimbus is a glowing light that encircles someone or something. A shadowy figure standing in front of your car's headlights might have a nimbus around it. One kind of nimbus is the holy glow that's said to surround the body or head of a saint — a halo, in other words. Many religious works of art feature Christian saints, each with a radiant nimbus. There is a more scientific kind of nimbus as well, a large, gray rain cloud. In Latin, nimbus simply means "cloud," possibly connected to nebula, "mist, vapor, or fog."

Example Sentences

Scheib’s staging, just Bayreuth’s 11th “Parsifal” production, paid homage to Wieland Wagner’s breakthrough 1951 minimalist sets with a circle of light that represented both the knights’ round table and a flying nimbus above the wasteland.

From Seattle Times • Jul. 26, 2023

Humanizing Bunny is in keeping with the show's general nimbus of empathy for all of its personalities, even its villains.

From Salon • Jul. 6, 2022

In any case, Ms. Morris continued with her writing life much as before, only wearing skirts, necklaces, a nimbus of graying hair and a perpetual smile.

From Washington Post • Nov. 20, 2020

The effect was less a series of scaffolding than a surreal nimbus — a white thought in a green shade.

From New York Times • Mar. 2, 2020

As she sits, looking out through the line of trees into the great empty parking lot, a dark shape sweeps through the nimbus of a streetlamp.

From "All the Light We Cannot See" by Anthony Doerr