nimbus [ nim-buhs ]
noun, plural nim·bi [nim-buhbahy], nim·bus·es.
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 (def. 1).
4. the type of dense clouds or cloud mass with ragged edges, that yields rain or snow; a rain cloud.
5. (initial capital letter) U.S. Aerospace. 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.
OTHER WORDS FROM NIMBUS
nimbused, adjective
WORDS RELATED TO NIMBUS
atmosphere, glory, aura, aureole, vapor, halo, aureola
See more synonyms on Thesaurus.com
Origin: 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”
EXAMPLE SENTENCES FROM THE WEB FOR NIMBUS
As journalists report bolder acts by the renegades, Nimbus and his friends are forced to move further from childhood innocence.
THIS WEEK’S HOT READS: APRIL 8, 2013|G. CLAY WHITTAKER|APRIL 9, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Against the dim interior her head, with its nimbus of hair, had the droop and poise of the head of a medival saint.
PHASES OF AN INFERIOR PLANET|ELLEN GLASGOW
Its uses in national philosophy and history, in biography and in poetry, throw about it a nimbus of meanings.
INSTIGATIONS|EZRA POUND
The crown is an insignia of civil power borne by the laity; the nimbus is ecclesiastical and religious.
FICTITIOUS & SYMBOLIC CREATURES IN ART|JOHN VINYCOMB
Now YOU come up with a sentence (or fic? or graphic?) that best illustrates the word.