CORONA

n. (pl. coronae) 1 a a small circle of light round the sun or moon. b the rarefied gaseous envelope of the sun, seen as an irregularly shaped area of light around the moon's disc during a total solar eclipse. 2 a circular chandelier hung from a roof. 3 Anat. a crown or crownlike structure. 4 Bot. a crownlike outgrowth from the inner side of a corolla. 5 Archit. a broad vertical face of a cornice, usu. of considerable projection. 6 Electr. the glow around a conductor at high potential. [L, = crown]