Wiktionary

bridge

See also: Bridge and bridgé

English

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A railway bridge (sense 1.1)

Alternative forms

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Pronunciation

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English Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia
  • enPR: brĭj, IPA(key): /bɹɪd͡ʒ/
  • Audio (US):(file)
  • Rhymes: -ɪdʒ

Etymology 1

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From Middle English brigge, from Old English brycġ (“bridge”), from Proto-Germanic *brugjō, *brugjǭ (“bridge”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰerw-, *bʰrēw- (“wooden flooring, decking, bridge”).

Cognate with Scots brig, brigg, breeg (“bridge”), Saterland Frisian Brääch (“bridge”), West Frisian brêge (“bridge”), Dutch brug (“bridge”), German Brücke (“bridge”), Danish brygge (“wharf”), Icelandic brygga (“pier”), Gaulish briua (“bridge”).

The verb is from Middle English briggen, from Old English brycġian (“to bridge, make a causeway, pave”), derived from the noun. Cognate with Dutch bruggen (“to bridge”), Middle Low German bruggen (“to bridge”), Old High German bruccōn (“to bridge”) (whence Modern German brücken).

The musical connection sense is a semantic loan from German Steg, from Old High German steg.

Noun

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A bridge (sense 1.1)
 
The bridge (sense 2.1) of a warship
 
The bridge (sense 2.2) of a violin

bridge (plural bridges)

  2. A construction or natural feature that spans a divide.
    1. A construction spanning a waterway, ravine, or valley from an elevated height, allowing for the passage of vehicles, pedestrians, trains, etc.
      The rope bridge crosses the river.
      • 1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter VIII, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., →OCLC:
        Now we plunged into a deep shade with the boughs lacing each other overhead, and crossed dainty, rustic bridges over the cold trout-streams, the boards giving back the clatter of our horses' feet: or anon we shot into a clearing, with a colored glimpse of the lake and its curving shore far below us.
      • 2013 June 29, “High and wet”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8842, page 28:
        Floods in northern India, mostly in the small state of Uttarakhand, have wrought disaster on an enormous scale. The early, intense onset of the monsoon on June 14th swelled rivers, washing away roads, bridges, hotels and even whole villages. Rock-filled torrents smashed vehicles and homes, burying victims under rubble and sludge.
    3. (anatomy) The upper bony ridge of the human nose.
      Rugby players often break the bridge of their noses.
    4. (dentistry) A prosthesis replacing one or several adjacent teeth.
      The dentist pulled out the decayed tooth and put in a bridge.
    5. (bowling) The gap between the holes on a bowling ball
  3. An arch or superstructure.
    1. (nautical) An elevated platform above the upper deck of a mechanically propelled ship from which it is navigated and from which all activities on deck can be seen and controlled by the captain, etc; smaller ships have a wheelhouse, and sailing ships were controlled from a quarterdeck.
      The first officer is on the bridge.
    3. (music, lutherie) The piece, on string instruments, that supports the strings from the sounding board.
    4. (billiards, snooker, pool) A particular form of one hand placed on the table to support the cue when making a shot in cue sports.
    5. (billiards, snooker, pool) A cue modified with a convex arch-shaped notched head attached to the narrow end, used to support a player's (shooter's) cue for extended or tedious shots. Also called a spider.
    6. Anything supported at the ends and serving to keep some other thing from resting upon the object spanned, as in engraving, watchmaking, etc., or which forms a platform or staging over which something passes or is conveyed.
    7. (wrestling) A defensive position in which the wrestler is supported by his feet and head, belly-up, in order to prevent touch-down of the shoulders and eventually to dislodge an opponent who has established a position on top.
    8. (gymnastics) A similar position in gymnastics.
  4. A connection, real or abstract.
    • 1964, Harry S. Truman, 0:18 from the start, in MP2002-479 Former President Truman Recalls Negotiating With DeGaulle and France after WWII‎[1], Harry S. Truman Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives Identifier: 595162:
      Yes, France is geographically situated in a key position so far as Western Europe is concerned. They are really the bridge between Germany, Spain and Italy. And it was necessary to have a NATO organization that was unified and France was a necessary member of that organization.
    1. (medicine) A rudimentary procedure before definite solution
      ECMO is used as a bridge to surgery to stabilize the patient.
    2. (computing) A device which connects two or more computer buses, typically in a transparent manner.
      This chip is the bridge between the front-side bus and the I/O bus.
    3. (programming) A software component connecting two or more separate systems.
      • 2011, Thord Daniel Hedengren, Smashing WordPress Themes: Making WordPress Beautiful:
        The plugin also acts as a bridge with BuddyPress and adds things like the top admin bar, and so on.
    4. (networking) A system which connects two or more local area networks at layer 2 of OSI model.
      The LAN bridge uses a spanning tree algorithm.
    5. (physical chemistry) An intramolecular valence bond, atom or chain of atoms that connects two different parts of a molecule; the atoms so connected being bridgeheads.
    7. (electronics) An unintended solder connection between two or more components or pins.
    8. (music) A contrasting section within a song that prepares for the return of the original material section.
      The lyrics in the song's bridge inverted its meaning.
      In the bridge of his 2011 song "It Will Rain", Bruno Mars begs his lover not to "say goodbye."
    9. (graph theory) An edge which, if removed, changes a connected graph to one that is not connected.
    10. (poetry) A point in a line where a break in a word unit cannot occur.
    11. (diplomacy) A statement, such as an offer, that signals a possibility of accord.
    12. A day falling between two public holidays and consequently designated as an additional holiday.
    13. (biology) In turtles, the connection between the plastron and the carapace.
  5. (electronics) Any of several electrical devices that measure characteristics such as impedance and inductance by balancing different parts of a circuit
  6. A low wall or vertical partition in the fire chamber of a furnace, for deflecting flame, etc.; a bridge wall.
  7. (cycling) The situation where a lone rider or small group of riders closes the space between them and the rider or group in front.
  8. A solid crust of undissolved salt in a water softener.
  9. (roller derby) An elongated chain of teammates, connected to the pack, for improved blocking potential.
  10. (card games) A form of cheating by which a card is cut by previously curving it by pressure of the hand.
Derived terms
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Translations
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Verb

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bridge (third-person singular simple present bridges, present participle bridging, simple past and past participle bridged)

  1. To be or make a bridge over something.
    With enough cable, we can bridge this gorge.
    • 1947 January and February, H. A. Vallance, “The Sea Wall at Dawlish”, in Railway Magazine, page 18:
      On this occasion, the damage was far more serious. The sea wall was breached completely for a distance of over 50 yd., and the gap had to be bridged by a temporary timber viaduct.
  2. To span as if with a bridge.
    The two groups were able to bridge their differences.
    • 2012, Christoper Zara, Tortured Artists: From Picasso and Monroe to Warhol and Winehouse, the Twisted Secrets of the World's Most Creative Minds, part 1, chapter 1, 28:
      The brooding, black-clad singer bridged a stark divide that emerged in the recording industry in the 1950s, as post-Elvis pop singers diverged into two camps and audiences aligned themselves with either the sideburned rebels of rock 'n' roll or the cowboy-hatted twangsters of country music.
  3. (music) To transition from one piece or section of music to another without stopping.
    We need to bridge that jam into "The Eleven".
  4. (computing, communication) To connect two or more computer buses, networks etc. with a bridge.
  5. (wrestling) To go to the bridge position.
  6. (roller derby) To employ the bridge tactic. (See Noun section.)
Derived terms
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Translations
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Etymology 2

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English Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia

From the earlier game biritch, probably from Russian бирю́ч (birjúč) or бири́ч (biríč); else from Turkish bir-üç (“one-three”).[1][2]

Noun

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bridge (uncountable)

  2. (card games) A card game played with four players playing as two teams of two players each.
    Bidding is an essential element of the game of bridge.
Translations
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References

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  1. ^ "bridge." *OED 2nd edition. 1989. (online)
  2. ^ Douglas Harper (2001–2024) “bridge”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.

Anagrams

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Basque

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Basque Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia eu

Etymology

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Borrowed from English bridge.

Noun

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bridge ?

  1. (card games) bridge (card game)

Catalan

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Catalan Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia ca

Etymology

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Borrowed from English bridge.

Noun

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bridge m (plural bridges)

  1. (card games) bridge (card game)

Danish

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Danish Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia da

Etymology

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From English bridge.

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /britsj/, [ˈb̥ʁid̥ɕ]

Noun

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bridge c (singular definite bridgen, not used in plural form)

  1. bridge (a card game)

Declension

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Declension of bridge
common
gender 		Singular
indefinite definite
nominative bridge bridgen
genitive bridges bridgens

Dutch

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Dutch Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia nl

Etymology

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Borrowed from English bridge.

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /brɪdʒ/ (/r/ may be realised as [ɹ])
  • Audio:(file)
  • Hyphenation: bridge

Noun

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bridge n (uncountable)

  1. bridge (card game)

Derived terms

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Faroese

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Etymology

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From English bridge.

Noun

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bridge ?

  1. (card games) bridge (card game)

Finnish

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Finnish Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia fi

Etymology

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From English bridge.

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /ˈbridɡe/, [ˈbridɡe̞]
  • IPA(key): /ˈbridʒ/, [ˈbridʒ]
  • Rhymes: -idɡe
  • Hyphenation(key): brid‧ge

Noun

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bridge

  1. (card games) bridge

Declension

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Inflection of bridge (Kotus type 8/nalle, no gradation)
nominative bridge bridget
genitive bridgen bridgejen
partitive bridgeä bridgejä
illative bridgeen bridgeihin
singular plural
nominative bridge bridget
accusative nom. bridge bridget
gen. bridgen
genitive bridgen bridgejen
bridgein rare
partitive bridgeä bridgejä
inessive bridgessä bridgeissä
elative bridgestä bridgeistä
illative bridgeen bridgeihin
adessive bridgellä bridgeillä
ablative bridgeltä bridgeiltä
allative bridgelle bridgeille
essive bridgenä bridgeinä
translative bridgeksi bridgeiksi
abessive bridgettä bridgeittä
instructive — bridgein
comitative See the possessive forms below.
Possessive forms of bridge (Kotus type 8/nalle, no gradation)
first-person singular possessor
singular plural
nominative bridgeni bridgeni
accusative nom. bridgeni bridgeni
gen. bridgeni
genitive bridgeni bridgejeni
bridgeini rare
partitive bridgeäni bridgejäni
inessive bridgessäni bridgeissäni
elative bridgestäni bridgeistäni
illative bridgeeni bridgeihini
adessive bridgelläni bridgeilläni
ablative bridgeltäni bridgeiltäni
allative bridgelleni bridgeilleni
essive bridgenäni bridgeinäni
translative bridgekseni bridgeikseni
abessive bridgettäni bridgeittäni
instructive — —
comitative — bridgeineni
second-person singular possessor
singular plural
nominative bridgesi bridgesi
accusative nom. bridgesi bridgesi
gen. bridgesi
genitive bridgesi bridgejesi
bridgeisi rare
partitive bridgeäsi bridgejäsi
inessive bridgessäsi bridgeissäsi
elative bridgestäsi bridgeistäsi
illative bridgeesi bridgeihisi
adessive bridgelläsi bridgeilläsi
ablative bridgeltäsi bridgeiltäsi
allative bridgellesi bridgeillesi
essive bridgenäsi bridgeinäsi
translative bridgeksesi bridgeiksesi
abessive bridgettäsi bridgeittäsi
instructive — —
comitative — bridgeinesi
first-person plural possessor
singular plural
nominative bridgemme bridgemme
accusative nom. bridgemme bridgemme
gen. bridgemme
genitive bridgemme bridgejemme
bridgeimme rare
partitive bridgeämme bridgejämme
inessive bridgessämme bridgeissämme
elative bridgestämme bridgeistämme
illative bridgeemme bridgeihimme
adessive bridgellämme bridgeillämme
ablative bridgeltämme bridgeiltämme
allative bridgellemme bridgeillemme
essive bridgenämme bridgeinämme
translative bridgeksemme bridgeiksemme
abessive bridgettämme bridgeittämme
instructive — —
comitative — bridgeinemme
second-person plural possessor
singular plural
nominative bridgenne bridgenne
accusative nom. bridgenne bridgenne
gen. bridgenne
genitive bridgenne bridgejenne
bridgeinne rare
partitive bridgeänne bridgejänne
inessive bridgessänne bridgeissänne
elative bridgestänne bridgeistänne
illative bridgeenne bridgeihinne
adessive bridgellänne bridgeillänne
ablative bridgeltänne bridgeiltänne
allative bridgellenne bridgeillenne
essive bridgenänne bridgeinänne
translative bridgeksenne bridgeiksenne
abessive bridgettänne bridgeittänne
instructive — —
comitative — bridgeinenne
third-person possessor
singular plural
nominative bridgensä bridgensä
accusative nom. bridgensä bridgensä
gen. bridgensä
genitive bridgensä bridgejensä
bridgeinsä rare
partitive bridgeään
bridgeänsä 		bridgejään
bridgejänsä
inessive bridgessään
bridgessänsä 		bridgeissään
bridgeissänsä
elative bridgestään
bridgestänsä 		bridgeistään
bridgeistänsä
illative bridgeensä bridgeihinsä
adessive bridgellään
bridgellänsä 		bridgeillään
bridgeillänsä
ablative bridgeltään
bridgeltänsä 		bridgeiltään
bridgeiltänsä
allative bridgelleen
bridgellensä 		bridgeilleen
bridgeillensä
essive bridgenään
bridgenänsä 		bridgeinään
bridgeinänsä
translative bridgekseen
bridgeksensä 		bridgeikseen
bridgeiksensä
abessive bridgettään
bridgettänsä 		bridgeittään
bridgeittänsä
instructive — —
comitative — bridgeineen
bridgeinensä

Derived terms

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compounds

Further reading

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French

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French Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia fr

Etymology

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From English bridge.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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bridge m (uncountable)

  1. (card games) bridge
  2. (dentistry, France) bridge
    Synonym: (Canada) pont

Further reading

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Indonesian

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Indonesian Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia id

Etymology

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Borrowed from English bridge.

Noun

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bridge (first-person possessive bridgeku, second-person possessive bridgemu, third-person possessive bridgenya)

  1. (card games) bridge (card game)

Italian

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Italian Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia it

Etymology

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Borrowed from English bridge.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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bridge m (invariable)

  1. (card games) bridge (card game)

Derived terms

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References

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  1. ^ bridge in Luciano Canepari, Dizionario di Pronuncia Italiana (DiPI)

Limburgish

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Limburgish Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia li

Etymology

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Borrowed from English bridge.

Noun

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bridge ?

  1. (card games) bridge (card game)

Norwegian Bokmål

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Norwegian Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia no

Etymology

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From English bridge.

Noun

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bridge m (definite singular bridgen, uncountable)

  1. bridge (card game)

References

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Norwegian Nynorsk

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Norwegian Nynorsk Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia nn

Etymology

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From English bridge.

Noun

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bridge m (definite singular bridgen, uncountable)

  1. (card games) bridge

References

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Portuguese

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Portuguese Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia pt

Etymology

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Unadapted borrowing from English bridge.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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bridge m (uncountable)

  1. (card games) bridge

Romanian

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Romanian Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia ro

Etymology

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Unadapted borrowing from English bridge.

Noun

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bridge n (plural bridge-uri)

  1. (card games) bridge (card game)
  2. a game of bridge

Declension

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singular plural
indefinite definite indefinite definite
nominative-accusative bridge bridge-ul bridge-uri bridge-urile
genitive-dative bridge bridge-ului bridge-uri bridge-urilor
vocative bridge-ule bridge-urilor

Saterland Frisian

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Saterland Frisian Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia stq

Etymology

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Borrowed from English bridge.

Noun

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bridge ? (plural [please provide])

  1. (card games) bridge (card game)

Sicilian

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Sicilian Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia scn

Etymology

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Borrowed from English bridge.

Noun

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bridge ?

  1. (card games) bridge (card game)

Spanish

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Spanish Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia es

Etymology

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Borrowed from English bridge.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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bridge m (uncountable)

  1. (card games) bridge (card game)

Further reading

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Swedish

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Swedish Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia sv

Etymology

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From English.

Noun

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bridge c

  1. (card games) bridge (card game)

Declension

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Declension of bridge
nominative genitive
singular indefinite bridge bridges
definite bridgen bridgens
plural indefinite — —
definite — —

Derived terms

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Welsh

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Etymology

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Borrowed from English bridge.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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bridge m

  1. (card games) bridge (card game)
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