Halo (religious iconography) obsolete "nimbated", like the commoner "nimbate", means "furnished with a nimbus". It is sometimes preferred by art-historians, as sounding more technical than halo. "Aureole", from the Latin for "golden", has been used in English as a term for a gold crown, especially that traditionally considered the reward of martyrs, since the Middle Ages (OED 1220). But the first use recorded as a term for a halo is in 1848, very shortly after which matters were greatly complicated by the publication in 1851 of the English translation of Adolphe Napoléon Didron's important "Christian Iconography: Or, The History of Christian Art in
Aureole effect Aureole effect The aureole effect or water aureole is an optical phenomenon similar to Heiligenschein, creating sparkling light and dark rays radiating from the shadow of the viewer's head. This effect is seen only over a rippling water surface. The waves act as lenses to focus and defocus sunlight: focused sunlight produces the lighter rays, while defocused sunlight produces the darker rays. Suspended particles in the water help make the aureole effect more pronounced. The effect extends a greater angular distance from the viewer's shadow when the viewer is higher above the water, and can sometimes be seen from a