Rainbow Meaning
/ˈɹeɪnboʊ/Definition, CEFR level A1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
nounA multicoloured arch in the sky, produced by prismatic refraction of light within droplets of rain in the air.
nounAny prismatic refraction of light showing a spectrum of colours.
Sentence Examples
A beautiful rainbow is spanning the sky.
What a beautiful rainbow!
No sooner had it stopped raining than a beautiful rainbow appeared.
CEFR Practice Quiz
After the storm, sunlight on water droplets creates a beautiful ____ with seven colors.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
A brilliant ____ appeared over the valley after the storm passed and the sun broke through.
Word Origin & History
From Middle English reynbowe, raynbowe, from Old English reġnboga (“rainbow”), from Proto-West Germanic *regnabogō, from Proto-Germanic *regnabugô (“rainbow”), equivalent to rain + bow (“arch”). Cognate with West Frisian reinbôge (“rainbow”), Dutch regenboog (“rainbow”), German Regenbogen (“rainbow”), Danish regnbue (“rainbow”), Swedish regnbåge (“rainbow”), Icelandic regnbogi (“rainbow”).
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"Why are there so many songs about rainbows
And what's on the other side?
Rainbows are visions, but only illusions
And rainbows have nothing to hide."
— 1979, Paul Williams, Kenneth Ascher, “Rainbow Connection”, performed by Kermit the Frog (Jim Henson):
"Finally, by actual trial, I have found that I can catch more rainbow by using one fly than with a two or three-fly cast."
— 1911, Francis R. Steel, “Catching the Rainbow Trout”, in The Outing Magazine, volume 58, page 482:
"He went along with them because the Pack was a rainbow group — two Italian-Americans, a black man, a Jew (Bishop), and a sometime Englishman (Lawford) — and they were making a point."
— 2006, Anthony Summers, Robbyn Swan, Sinatra: The Life, page 246:
"The 1999 June elections led to a surprise change in the governing coalition from the long-term ruling Christian Democrats to a rainbow group of Greens, Liberals, and Socialists."
— 2007, Melissa Haussman, Birgit Sauer, Gendering the state in the age of globalization, page 67:
"Mayawati has succeeded in building a social coalition that inverts the pyramid of caste/class hierarchy by building a rainbow alliance of social groups, now dominated by that greatest underclass of all, namely Dalits."
— 2008, Bidyut Chakrabarty, Indian politics and society since independence, page 76:
Explore More A1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
After the storm, sunlight on water droplets creates a beautiful ____ with seven colors.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
A brilliant ____ appeared over the valley after the storm passed and the sun broke through.