What does rainbow mean?

Definitions for rainbow
ˈreɪnˌboʊrain·bow

This dictionary definitions page includes all the possible meanings, example usage and translations of the word rainbow.

Princeton's WordNet

  1. rainbownoun

    an arc of colored light in the sky caused by refraction of the sun's rays by rain

  2. rainbownoun

    an illusory hope

    "chasing rainbows"

Wiktionary

  1. rainbownoun

    A multicoloured arch in the sky, produced by prismatic refraction of light within droplets of rain in the air.

  2. rainbownoun

    Any prismatic refraction of light showing a spectrum of colours.

  3. rainbownoun

    A wide assortment; a varied multitude.

    a rainbow of possibilities

  4. rainbownoun

    An illusion, mirage

    Many electoral promises are rainbows, vanishing soon after poll day.

  5. rainbownoun

    A curveball, particularly a slow one

  6. rainbownoun

    In Texas hold 'em or Omaha hold 'em, a flop that contains three different suits

  7. rainbowverb

    To pattern with many colours, like a rainbow.

  8. rainbowadjective

    Multicoloured.

  9. rainbowadjective

    Made up of several races or ethnicities, or (more broadly) of several cultural or ideological factions.

  10. rainbowadjective

    LGBT.

  11. rainbowadjective

    Composed entirely of different suits.

  12. Etymology: From regnboga, formed as regn + boga. Cognate with Old High German reginbogo, Icelandic regnbogi and Old Norse regnbogi.

Samuel Johnson's Dictionary

  1. Rainbownoun

    The iris; the semicircle of various colours which appears in showery weather.

    Etymology: rain and bow.

    Casting of the water in a most cunning manner, makes a perfect rainbow, not more pleasant to the eye than to the mind, so sensibly to see the proof of the heavenly iris. Philip Sidney.

    To add another hue unto the rainbow. William Shakespeare.

    The rainbow is drawn like a nymph with large wings dispread in the form of a semicircle, the feathers of sundry colours. Henry Peacham.

    They could not be ignorant of the promise of God never to drown the world, and the rainbow before their eyes to put them in mind of it. Thomas Browne, Vulgar Errours.

    This rainbow never appears but where it rains in the sunshine, and may be made artificially by spouting up water, which may break aloft, and scatter into drops, and fall down like rain; for the sun, shining upon these drops, certainly causes the bow to appear to a spectator standing in a true position to the rain and sun: this bow is made by refraction of the sun’s light in drops of falling rain. Isaac Newton, Opticks.

    The dome’s high arch reflects the mingled blaze,
    And forms a rainbow of alternate rays. Alexander Pope.

Wikipedia

  1. Rainbow

    A rainbow is a meteorological phenomenon that is caused by reflection, refraction and dispersion of light in water droplets resulting in a spectrum of light appearing in the sky. It takes the form of a multicoloured circular arc. Rainbows caused by sunlight always appear in the section of sky directly opposite the sun. Rainbows can be full circles. However, the observer normally sees only an arc formed by illuminated droplets above the ground, and centered on a line from the sun to the observer's eye. In a primary rainbow, the arc shows red on the outer part and violet on the inner side. This rainbow is caused by light being refracted when entering a droplet of water, then reflected inside on the back of the droplet and refracted again when leaving it. In a double rainbow, a second arc is seen outside the primary arc, and has the order of its colours reversed, with red on the inner side of the arc. This is caused by the light being reflected twice on the inside of the droplet before leaving it.

ChatGPT

  1. rainbow

    A rainbow is a meteorological phenomenon that occurs when sunlight is refracted, or bent, by water droplets in the air, creating a spectrum of colors appearing as a circular arc in the sky. It typically includes the colors red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet, with red being the outermost color and violet being the innermost color.

Webster Dictionary

  1. Rainbownoun

    a bow or arch exhibiting, in concentric bands, the several colors of the spectrum, and formed in the part of the hemisphere opposite to the sun by the refraction and reflection of the sun's rays in drops of falling rain

  2. Etymology: [AS. regenboga, akin to G. regenbogen. See Rain, and Bow anything bent.]

Wikidata

  1. Rainbow

    A rainbow is an optical and meteorological phenomenon that is caused by reflection of light in water droplets in the Earth's atmosphere, resulting in a spectrum of light appearing in the sky. It takes the form of a multicoloured arc. Rainbows caused by sunlight always appear in the section of sky directly opposite the sun. In a "primary rainbow", the arc shows red on the outer part and violet on the inner side. This rainbow is caused by light being refracted while entering a droplet of water, then reflected inside on the back of the droplet and refracted again when leaving it. In a double rainbow, a second arc is seen outside the primary arc, and has the order of its colours reversed, red facing toward the other one, in both rainbows. This second rainbow is caused by light reflecting twice inside water droplets.

Dictionary of Nautical Terms

  1. rainbow

    "A rainbow towards night, Fair weather in sight. Rainbow at night, Sailor's delight; Rainbow in morning, Sailors, take warning."

Suggested Resources

  1. rainbow

    The rainbow symbol -- In this Symbols.com article you will learn about the meaning of the rainbow symbol and its characteristic.

  2. rainbow

    Song lyrics by rainbow -- Explore a large variety of song lyrics performed by rainbow on the Lyrics.com website.

Surnames Frequency by Census Records

  1. RAINBOW

    According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Rainbow is ranked #39352 in terms of the most common surnames in America.

    The Rainbow surname appeared 559 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 would have the surname Rainbow.

    73.7% or 412 total occurrences were White.
    11.2% or 63 total occurrences were American Indian or Alaskan Native.
    8% or 45 total occurrences were Black.
    4.2% or 24 total occurrences were of Hispanic origin.

Matched Categories

British National Corpus

  1. Nouns Frequency

    Rank popularity for the word 'rainbow' in Nouns Frequency: #2953

How to pronounce rainbow?

How to say rainbow in sign language?

Numerology

  1. Chaldean Numerology

    The numerical value of rainbow in Chaldean Numerology is: 6

  2. Pythagorean Numerology

    The numerical value of rainbow in Pythagorean Numerology is: 1

Examples of rainbow in a Sentence

  1. Warren Wiersbe:

    Four Lessons on Life 1. Never take down a fence until you know why it was put up. 2. If you get too far ahead of the army, your soldiers may mistake you for the enemy. 3. Don't complain about the bottom rungs of the ladder they helped to get you higher. 4. If you want to enjoy the rainbow, be prepared to endure the storm.

  2. John Vance Cheney:

    The soul would have no rainbow had the eyes no tears.

  3. CLIFFORD VILLALON:

    The seven colors of the rainbow are the shades of human lifestyle: reserved, outlandish, yo-yo, good, bad, innovative and venerable.

  4. Judy Garland:

    Ever since The Wizard of Oz I’ve been accused of being twelve years old. You should see some of the disappointed looks I get, when people lay eyes on me in person. They expect someone in gingham, with braids, to come out singing ‘Over the Rainbow.’ And out I come, instead.

  5. Eva Longoria:

    It is great to work with a brand that understands women, self-worth is very important, it is more than a lipstick or a hair color, we have a rainbow of diversity on the catwalk today with Korea, Brazil, India and me from Mexico. Definition of beauty is different all over the world and to have one stage celebrating all of that difference is really remarkable.

Popularity rank by frequency of use

rainbow#1#5612#10000

Translations for rainbow

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"rainbow." Definitions.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 19 Mar. 2024. <https://www.definitions.net/definition/rainbow>.

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