French word

aurore

Pronunciation

IPA/oʁɔʁ/

Meaning

  • feminine noundawn

Example

On partira à l'aurore pour éviter le trafic.

We will leave at dawn to avoid the traffic.

Illustration for aurore (dawn)

More examples

Je prends souvent des photos à l'aurore.

I often take photos at dawn.

Core concept

A faint band of light spreads along the dark horizon before the sun appears.

Common phrases

  • dès l'aurore

    at dawn

  • se lever à l'aurore

    get up at dawn

Similar words

matin: The morning hours from daybreak until noon.
aube: The dawn hour near sunrise, when darkness begins to fade.

Definition in French

Période du jour où la lumière commence à apparaître avant le lever du soleil.

Word origin

French aurore comes from Latin aurora, the name of dawn and its goddess, inherited from an Indo-European dawn word.

Usage tips

  • Aurore is more literary or poetic than everyday aube, so ordinary speech often uses à l'aube or au petit matin.

Other meanings

  • auroranoun

Opposites

Word lists with this word