rainbow English · revision 10271

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=compound|attested=c. 1000|origins=ang regnboga}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈɹeɪnbəʊ/ ''(UK)''; /ˈɹeɪnboʊ/, /ˈɹeɪmboʊ/ ''(US)''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is Middle English reinbowe, [[inh|ang|regnboga|t=rainbow]], rēnboga,^(Etymonline)^(Klein 1966)^(MWU 2024) a compound of [[rain]] and [[bow]],^(Etymonline)^(NODE 1998) common to Germanic: Old Norse regnbogi, Dutch regenboog, German [[m|de|Regenbogen]].^(Etymonline)^(Klein 1966) Old English also had scūrboga, shower-bow.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ An arch of prismatic colours formed by the refraction of sunlight in drops of rain or spray: about 1000.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ A brightly coloured arch or ring resembling a rainbow is from 1715,^(OED 1989) and figurative use, sometimes alluding to the sign of God's covenant in Genesis, from 1742.^(OED 1989) In boxing slang of 1811 a rainbow was a discoloured bruise.^(OED 1989) The American rainbow trout (1876) is named for its colours.^(Etymonline) An illusory hope, as in ''to chase rainbows'', is a later figurative sense.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1000 – the arc in the sky.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1715 – a similar coloured arch.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1742 – figurative use.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1811 – a bruise (boxing slang).^(OED 1989)

+ * 1876 – rainbow trout.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # An arc of the colours of the [[spectrum]] seen in the sky opposite the sun, caused by the refraction and reflection of sunlight in drops of rain or mist.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A similar display of colours, as from a prism.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # An illusory hope: ''to chase rainbows''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Many-coloured, or representing great variety.^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[rainbowlike]]

+ * [[rainbowy]]

+ * [[fogbow]]

+ * [[mistbow]]

+ * [[rainbow-collar]]

+ * [[rainbow bridge]]

+ * [[rainbow cactus]]

+ * [[rainbow darter]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[rain]]

+ * [[bow]]

+ * [[iris]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}