Rainbow definitions and example sentences on Wordnik

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Definitions (15)

American Heritage Dictionary (5)

noun An arc of spectral colors, usually identified as red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet, that appears in the sky opposite the sun as a result of the refractive dispersion of sunlight in drops of rain or mist.
noun A similar arc or band, as one produced by a prism or by iridescence.
noun A graded display of colors.

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Century Dictionary (7)

A bow, or an arc of a circle, consisting of the prismatic colors, formed by the refraction and reflection of rays of light from drops of rain or vapor, appearing in the part of the heavens opposite to the sun. When large and strongly illuminated, the rainbow presents the appearance of two concentric arches, the inner being called the primary and the outer the secondary rainbow. Each is formed of the colors of the solar spectrum, but the colors are arranged in reversed order, the red forming the exterior ring of the primary bow and the interior of the secondary. The primary bow is formed by rays of the sun that enter the upper part of falling drops of rain, and undergo two refractions and one reflection; the secondary, by rays that enter the under part of rain drops, and undergo two refractions and two reflections. Hence, the colors of the secondary bow are fainter than those of the primary. The rainbow is regarded as a symbol of divine beneficence toward man, from its being made the token of the covenant that the earth should never again be destroyed by a flood (Gen. ix. 13–17). Smaller bows, sometimes circular and very brilliant, are often seen through masses of mist or spray, as from a waterfall or from waves about a ship. (See fog-bow.) The moon sometimes forms a bow or arch of light, more faint than that formed by the sun, and called a lunar rainbow. Thanne ic ofe[r]-téo hefenes mid wlcne. thanne bith atáwed min rén bȯge. betwuxe than folce [vel wlcne]. thanne beo ic ʒemenéʒed mines weddes. that ic nelle henon forth mancyn. mid watere adrenche. Old Eng. Homilies (ed. Morris), 1st ser., xxiv. 225. (Rich.) Tannede [showed] him in the wa[l]kene a-buuen Rein-bowe. Genesis and Exodus, l. 637. When in Heav'n I see the Rain-boaw bent, I hold it for a Pledge and Argument. Sylvester, tr. of Du Bartas's Weeks, i. 2. Intersecting rainbows are not uncommon. They require, of course, for their production, two sources of parallel rays; and they are seen when, behind the spectator, there is a large sheet of calm water. Tait, Light, § 165.
In heraldry, the representation of a half-ring divided into seven concentric narrow rings and arched upward, each end resting on a clump of clouds. To avoid the difficulty of finding seven different tinctures, the number of concentric rings is sometimes diminished to three, usually azure, or, and g ules—that is, blue, gold, and red.
In ornithology, a humming-bird of tho genus Diphlogena, containing two most brilliantly plumaged species, D. iris of Bolivia, and D. hesperus of Ecuador.

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That must be her mission-though where the rainbow was at the moment, and what she was supposed to say to it, and why this was important to the welfare of the Land of Xanth-these things remained opaque. — Night Mare
The end of the rainbow is an old folk tale, unscientific. — Magazine - Future Orbits - [Vol 02] - Issue 03 - June-July 2002
Pretty much every colour of the rainbow is available, including "Piano Black", "Pure White", — The Register
The most obvious example, the classic film version starring Judy Garland and a trip over the rainbow was actually the sixth film based on Baum's work, and since then everyone from Sidney Lumet to anime filmmaker Fumihiko Takayama has taken a crack at it. — Fat Guys at the Movies
At the end of the rainbow is a rusty old pickup truck, and in this truck is: the leprechaun's sack of gold. — Film.com Movie Blog

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crimson · violet · sunset · silvery · emerald · radiance · multicolored · lightning · silver · sparkle · colorful · tint

Roget's II: The New Thesaurus, Third Edition by the Editors of the American Heritage® Dictionary. Copyright © 2003, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Etymologies (2)

American Heritage Dictionary (1)

Middle English, from Old English rēnboga : rēn, rain + boga, bow; see bow³.

Century Dictionary (1)

from Middle English reinbowe, reinboʒe, renboʒe, from Anglo-Saxon regn-boga, rēnboga (= OFries. reinboga = Dutch regenboog = Middle Low German regenboge, regensboge (cf. Low German water-boog) = Old High German reganbogo, Middle High German regenboge, German regenbogen = Icelandic regnbogi = Swedish regnbåge = Danish regnbue), from regn, rain, + boga, bow: see rain and bow, n.

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