[L., a. Gr. αὔρα breath, breeze.]
1. A gentle breeze, a zephyr.
1398. Trevisa, Barth. De P. R., XI. xv. (1495), 400. Aura is lyghte wynde meuyd.
1635. Swan, Spec. M., v. § 2 (1643), 88. Such a gale as is commonly called Aura.
1731. in Bailey.
2. A subtle emanation or exhalation from any substance, e.g., the aroma of blood, the odor of flowers, etc.
1732. Berkeley, Alciphr., II. 35. After which [i.e., the flying off of the volatile salt or spirit] the Oil remains dry and insipid, but without any sensible diminution of its weight, by the loss of that volatile essence of the soul, that æthereal aura.
1836. Todd, Cycl. Anat. & Phys., II. 466/2. Fecundation is attributable to the agency of an aura from … the seminal fluid.
b. fig.
1859. J. Holland, Gold Foil, 110. Wrapped in the aura of his ineffable love.
1876. Emerson, Ess., Ser. II. i. 28. The condition of true naming, on the poet’s part, is his resigning himself to the divine aura which breathes through forms.
3. Electr. † a. = Electrical atmosphere: see ATMOSPHERE sb. 3 (obs.). b. The current of air caused by the discharge of electricity from a sharp point, e.g., from those of the electrical whirl.
1737. Franklin, Lett., Wks. 1840, VI. 2. Divers species of earthquakes, according to the different position, quantity, &c., of this imprisoned aura.
1810. Coleridge, Friend, VI. vii. (1867), 317. A fourth composes the electrical aura of oxygen, hydrogen, and caloric.
1863. Atkinson, Ganot’s Physics, § 742. On approaching the hand to the whirl while in motion, a slight draught is felt, due to the movement of the electrified air…. This draught or wind is known as the electrical aura.
4. Path. A sensation, as of a current of cold air rising from some part of the body to the head, which occurs as a premonitory symptom in epilepsy and hysterics.
1776–83. Cullen, First Lines (1827), II. 424. Aura Epileptica.
1875. H. Wood, Therap. (1879), 353. The patient should … inhale it at once whenever the aura is felt.
