RAINBOW

rainbow

(noun) an illusory hope; “chasing rainbows”

rainbow

(noun) an arc of colored light in the sky caused by refraction of the sun’s rays by rain

Source: WordNet® 3.1

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Etymology

Noun

rainbow (plural rainbows)

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

Any prismatic refraction of light showing a spectrum of colours.

(often used with “of”) A wide assortment; a varied multitude.

(figurative) An illusion, mirage.

(baseball) A curveball, particularly a slow one.

(poker slang) In Texas hold 'em or Omaha hold 'em, a flop that contains three different suits.

Rainbow trout.

Synonyms

• (prismatic reflection): spectrum

Hyponyms

• lunar rainbow

• marine rainbow

Adjective

rainbow (not comparable)

Multicolored.

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

(attributive) LGBT.

(poker, chiefly, of a flop) Composed entirely of different suits.

Usage notes

• In the United States, 'rainbow' groups/families/alliances/coalitions were originally those made up of several races or ethnicities. The term is now used more broadly, to refer (in the 2007 quotation, for example) to an alliance of several political parties. Separately, use of a rainbow flag as an LGBT symbol has led to the term being used to refer to LGBT groups (initiatives, etc).

Synonyms

• (multicolored): motley, multihued, polychromatic; see also multicolored

• (made up of several races or ethnicities): multiethnic, multiracial, rainbowed

• (made up of several factions): multipartisan

Verb

rainbow (third-person singular simple present rainbows, present participle rainbowing, simple past and past participle rainbowed)

(transitive) To brighten with, or as with, a rainbow; to pattern with the colours of the rainbow.

(intransitive) To take the appearance of a rainbow.

Noun

Rainbow (plural Rainbows)

A member of the Rainbow Guides, a Girl Guide movement for younger girls.

Proper noun

Rainbow

A census-designated place in San Diego County, California, United States.

Source: Wiktionary

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Rain"bow`, n. Etym: [AS. regenboga, akin to G. regenbogen. See Rain, and Bow anything bent,]

Definition: 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.

Note: Besides the ordinary bow, called also primary rainbow, which is formed by two refractions and one reflection, there is also another often seen exterior to it, called the secondary rainbow, concentric with the first, and separated from it by a small interval. It is formed by two refractions and two reflections, is much fainter than the primary bow, and has its colors arranged in the reverse order from those of the latter. Lunar rainbow, a fainter arch or rainbow, formed by the moon.

– Marine rainbow, or Sea bow, a similar bow seen in the spray of waves at sea.

– Rainbow trout (Zoöl.), a bright-colored trout (Salmoirideus), native of the mountains of California, but now extensively introduced into the Eastern States. Japan, and other countries; -- called also brook trout, mountain trout, and golden trout.

– Rainbow wrasse. (Zoöl.) See under Wrasse.

– Supernumerary rainbow, a smaller bow, usually of red and green colors only, sometimes seen within the primary or without the secondary rainbow, and in contact with them.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition

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