rainbow

B2 Topic:General Vocabulary

US /ˈɹeɪnboʊ/ UK /ˈɹeɪnbəʊ/ See IPA manual

Freq #5279

Meanings

1

noun
A curved band of colours in the sky, formed when sunlight passes through rain.

After the storm, a beautiful rainbow appeared over the hills.
2

noun
A wide variety of different things.

The shop sells a whole rainbow of paint colours.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

multicoloredmultihuedpolychromatic spectrum

Word family

Forms rainbows

Derived forms brainbowdrainbowfoambowfogbowfrostbowicebowmistbowrainbow-collarrainbow-coloredrainbow-colouredrainbowedrainbowfish

Appears in

Phrases (1)

See all

rainbow trout
a trout commonly found in Pacific-region waters and also eaten as food

Noun + noun

Proverbs (1)

See all

There is a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow

Simplified etymology

Rainbow is an Old English compound in which bow refers to the curved shape of an archer’s bow. That bow belongs to the Germanic family associated with bending.

Etymology

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”).

*bʰewgʰ- Proto-Indo-European reynbowe Middle English reġnboga Old English *regnabogō Proto-West Germanic *regnabugô Proto-Germanic

View etymology graph ->

Topics

General Vocabulary

External links

# rainbow

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B2
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /ˈɹeɪnboʊ/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈɹeɪnbəʊ/
**Frequency rank:** 5279

## Meanings
1. A curved band of colours in the sky, formed when sunlight passes through rain.
2. A wide variety of different things.

## Examples
- After the storm, a beautiful rainbow appeared over the hills.
- The shop sells a whole rainbow of paint colours.

## Synonyms
- multicolored
- multihued
- polychromatic
- spectrum

## Derived Forms
- brainbow
- drainbow
- foambow
- fogbow
- frostbow
- icebow
- mistbow
- rainbow-collar
- rainbow-colored
- rainbow-coloured
- rainbowed
- rainbowfish

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: *bʰewgʰ-
- Root: reynbowe
- Root: reġnboga
- Root: *regnabogō
- Root: *regnabugô

## Etymology
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”).

## AI Etymology
Rainbow comes 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”). Modern senses include a curved band of colours in the sky, formed when sunlight passes through rain. and a wide variety of different things.. The wider word family includes derivatives such as brainbow, drainbow, foambow, fogbow, frostbow, and icebow.

## Topics
- General Vocabulary

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