There is something else interesting
about 'aureole'. The history of its use
in geology is obscure. (I won't upset
the real geologists by asking whether
anyone knows who first used 'aureole' in
geology.)
Its etymology may be of interest because
others may also find the etymology of a
term essential to understanding it.
'Aureole' originally meant, in English,
a golden crown (in a figurative sense, I
think). So we know at least that the
petrologist who adopted it was
obsessive.
It is still used in western art to refer
to painting of (oriental & occidental)
halos about religious figures.
Bruce
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