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corona

Etymology and origin of the English word corona

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Latin corona
English corona

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /kəˈɹoʊ.nə/; /kəˈɹəʊ.nə/ (UK)[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin corōna (“garland, wreath, crown”),[2][3][4][5][6] probably from Ancient Greek κορώνη (korṓnē, “curved object, crown”).[6] It is a doublet of crown.[2][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

The projecting part of a classical cornice (1548–63);[5][7] a small coloured circle of light round the sun or moon (1658).[7][3]

Semantic evolution

In Rome a corona was especially a crown or garland awarded for military service.[4] In English the word took many technical senses: a circular church chandelier (1825), the tonsure of a cleric, and various crown-like parts of the body or of plants.[7][1] The astronomical sense, the halo of light seen round the sun in a total eclipse, now known to be its outer atmosphere, dates from 1809–59.[4][7] A brand of Havana cigar was named Corona (1876–77),[4][7] and the Mexican lager in 1925.[4]

Timeline

  • 1548–63 – part of a cornice.[5][7]
  • 1658 – a ring of light round the sun or moon.[7][3]
  • 1809 – the halo of the sun seen in a total eclipse.[4]
  • 1825 – a circular church chandelier.[7]
  • 1876 – a brand of cigar.[4][7]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. A faint coloured ring of light seen round the sun or moon through haze or thin cloud, caused by diffraction.
  2. The luminous outer atmosphere of the sun or another star, seen during a total eclipse.
  3. (architecture) The projecting top part of a cornice.
  4. (anatomy, botany) A crown-like part, such as the top of a tooth or the trumpet of a daffodil.
  5. A long cigar with straight sides and blunt ends.
  6. A circular chandelier hung in a church.

Word family

  • coronagraph
  • coronavirus
  • corona discharge
  • Corona Australis
  • Corona Borealis
  • coronal
  • corona radiata
  • coronary
  • coronate
  • coronation
  • coroner
  • coronet
  • crown

References

  1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
  3. ^ a b c Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
  4. ^ a b c d e f g Harper, Douglas, Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  5. ^ a b c d Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  6. ^ a b Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Corona.” Etymologically, 11 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/corona. Accessed 11 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·