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a distinctive and pervasive quality or character; air; atmosphere:
an aura of respectability; an aura of friendliness.
a subtly pervasive quality or atmosphere seen as emanating from a person, place, or thing.
Pathology. a sensation, as of lights or a current of warm or cold air, preceding an attack of migraine or epilepsy.
a companion of Artemis who bore twins to Dionysus. Zeus changed her into a spring because, in a fit of madness, she had killed one of her children.
Contemporary Examples

But the rumors may add to his aura of power as founder of Otto Reich Associates.
Iran-Contra’s Scary Sequel Art Levine October 9, 2009

The style is elegant and understated, the aura of weariness and mortality extremely powerful.
Scorsese’s Favorite Gangster Movies Martin Scorsese September 7, 2010

Musicians such as Charlie Parker, Count Basie, and Lester Young exuded the aura of outsider-as-insider.
Defining American Cool From Walt Whitman to Tina Fey and Johnny Depp Jason Berry March 24, 2014

There is an aura of transcendence, a spiritual fulfillment that comes with attaining “an intense transactional present.”
Must Read Novels: Ballard, Dybek, and Krasznahorkai Jacob Silverman, Malcolm Forbes, John McIntyre April 22, 2012

Then there is the aura of someone who acts as if the rules don’t apply to him.
Paul Begala on Romney: Once a Bully, Always a Bully Paul Begala May 10, 2012

Historical Examples

And my aura must be deaf to rakish young beaux and their compliments.
Love and Life Charlotte M. Yonge

“Lee—over there—” aura’s whispered words were drab with horror.
The World Beyond Raymond King Cummings

I resisted all temptation to deck myself with snowdrops and fir twigs; their subdued tones do not match my aura.
From a Terrace in Prague Lieut.-Col. B. Granville Baker

Trembling, Lee stood up, with the mute, white-faced aura clinging to him.
The World Beyond Raymond King Cummings

He thought first of aura, with a calm peaceful sense of happiness.
The Girl in the Golden Atom Raymond King Cummings

noun (pl) auras, aurae (ˈɔːriː)
a distinctive air or quality considered to be characteristic of a person or thing
any invisible emanation, such as a scent or odour
(pathol) strange sensations, such as noises in the ears or flashes of light, that immediately precede an attack, esp of epilepsy
(in parapsychology) an invisible emanation produced by and surrounding a person or object: alleged to be discernible by individuals of supernormal sensibility
n.

1870 in spiritualism, “subtle emanation around living beings;” earlier “characteristic impression” made by a personality (1859), earlier still “gentle breeze” (late 14c.), from Latin aura “breeze, wind, air,” from Greek aura “breath, breeze,” from PIE root *awer- (see air (n.1)).

aura au·ra (ôr’ə)
n. pl. au·ras or au·rae (ôr’ē)
A sensation, as of a cold breeze or a bright light, that precedes the onset of certain disorders, such as an epileptic seizure or an attack of migraine.