rainbow bridge

proper noun

The road between the realm of the gods and the realm of men in Heathenry which appears in the form of a rainbow; Bifrost.

“Two of my three dogs have crossed the rainbow bridge.”

Meanings

rainbow bridge1

proper nounthe rainbow bridge

alternative Rainbow Bridge · alternative Internet usually 🌈

  1. GermaniclifestyleThe road between the realm of the gods and the realm of men in Heathenry which appears in the form of a rainbow; Bifrost.

    1993 The Rites of Odin, Ed Fitch, Llewellyn, →ISBN, page 273. O High Ones of the Rainbow Bridge, Thou hast heard that which is my need And my desire.

    2 more examples

    1998 Heartland, Volume 1, Issue 3 (Heathen Journal), I Believe, Joanne Fletcher - Holloway. With nature I give and feel her pain, / In Freyja's arms I'm at peace again, / And in all I've heard, / And in all I've read, / My life is anew, like the eagle that flew, / Across the Rainbow Bridge, / Myself to myself, I give to you.

    2004 The Book of Seithr, Runic John, Capall Bann Publishing, →ISBN, page 82. Asgard stands perched on the highest branches of the tree, where it is reached by crossing Bifrost, the rainbow bridge.

  2. euphemisticA metaphorical bridge crossed at death, usually in reference to pets.

    Two of my three dogs have crossed the rainbow bridge.

    2 more examples

    I'm so sorry your little Typo is gone. Surely she knew how much she was loved and she will wait for you at the Rainbow Bridge.

    2005 September 23, jacquie, kylie & gilbert, “Typo (0/1)”, in alt.pets.ferrets (Usenet)

    On social media, users share their emotions, positive and negative, when, for example, cats celebrate their birthdays or adoptaversaries, or when cats are ill or ‘have crossed the rainbow bridge’.

    2023, Edith Podhovnik, “Cats and Their Digital Spaces”, in “The Cativerse”, in Purrieties of Language: How We Talk about Cats Online, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire: Cambridge University Press, →ISBN, page 11

Rainbow Bridge2

proper nounthe Rainbow Bridge
  1. Alternative letter-case form of rainbow bridge.

    1993 The Rites of Odin, Ed Fitch, Llewellyn, →ISBN, page 273. O High Ones of the Rainbow Bridge, Thou hast heard that which is my need And my desire.

    3 more examples

    Between us and the dwelling of the gods is the Rainbow Bridge, whereon the gods and heroes come to and fro.

    [1870], [Elizabeth Charles], chapter I, in The Victory of the Vanquished. A Story of the First Century., New York, N.Y.: Dodd, Mead & Company, […], →OCLC, page 18

    1998 Heartland, Volume 1, Issue 3 (Heathen Journal), I Believe, Joanne Fletcher - Holloway. With nature I give and feel her pain, / In Freyja's arms I'm at peace again, / And in all I've heard, / And in all I've read, / My life is anew, like the eagle that flew, / Across the Rainbow Bridge, / Myself to myself, I give to you.

    I'm so sorry your little Typo is gone. Surely she knew how much she was loved and she will wait for you at the Rainbow Bridge.

    2005 September 23, jacquie, kylie & gilbert, “Typo (0/1)”, in alt.pets.ferrets (Usenet)
Cite this entry
APA

rainbow bridge. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/rainbow%20bridge

MLA

“rainbow bridge.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/rainbow%20bridge. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “rainbow bridge,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/rainbow%20bridge.

Source: rainbow bridge on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.