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”). Cognates Cognate with Scots brig, brigg (“bridge”), Yola burge (“bridge”), North Frisian brag, Bröch (“bridge”), Saterland Frisian Brääch, Brääg (“bridge”), West Frisian brêge (“bridge”), Dutch brug (“bridge”), German Brücke (“bridge”), Limburgish brögk (“bridge”), Luxembourgish Bréck (“bridge”), Vilamovian bryk (“bridge”), Yiddish בריק (brik, “bridge”), Danish, Norwegian Bokmål brygge (“jetty, pier, wharf”), Faroese, Icelandic bryggja (“pier”), Norwegian Nynorsk brygge, bryggje (“jetty, pier, wharf”), Swedish brygga (“bridge; pier”). 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 sense of a part of a stringed instrument is a semantic loan from German Steg, from Old High German steg.
A construction spanning a waterway, ravine, or valley from a height, allowing for the passage of vehicles, pedestrians, trains, etc.
The rope bridge crosses the river.
It was a beautiful view from the Brooklyn Bridge.
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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.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:
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.2013 June 29, “High and wet”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8842, page 28:
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Anatomy, Medicine, Sciences The upper bony ridge of the human nose.
Rugby players often break the bridge of their noses.
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Dentistry, Medicine, Sciences A prosthesis replacing one or several adjacent teeth.
The dentist pulled out the decayed tooth and put in a bridge.
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Bowling, Hobbies, Lifestyle, Sports The gap between the holes on a bowling ball
› An arch or superstructure.
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Nautical, Transport 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.
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Arts, Crafts, Entertainment, Hobbies, Lifestyle, Lutherie, Music The piece, on string instruments, that supports the strings from the sounding board.
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Ball games, Billiards, Games, Hobbies, Lifestyle, Pool, Snooker, Sports A particular form of one hand placed on the table to support the cue when making a shot in cue sports.
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Ball games, Billiards, Games, Hobbies, Lifestyle, Pool, Snooker, Sports 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.
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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.
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Government, Hobbies, Lifestyle, Martial arts, Military, Politics, Sports, War, 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.
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Gymnastics, Hobbies, Lifestyle, Sports A similar position in gymnastics.
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A connection, real or abstract.
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.1964, Harry S. Truman, 0:18 from the start, in MP2002-479 Former President Truman Recalls Negotiating With DeGaulle and France after WWII, Harry S. Truman Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives Identifier: 595162:
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Medicine, Sciences A rudimentary procedure before definite solution
ECMO is used as a bridge to surgery to stabilize the patient.
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Computing, Engineering, Mathematics, Natural sciences, Physical sciences, Sciences 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.
The plugin also acts as a bridge with BuddyPress and adds things like the top admin bar, and so on.2011, Thord Daniel Hedengren, Smashing WordPress Themes: Making WordPress Beautiful:
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Computing, Engineering, Mathematics, Natural sciences, Networking, Physical sciences, Sciences A system which connects two or more local area networks at layer 2 of OSI model.
The LAN bridge uses a spanning tree algorithm.
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Chemistry, Natural sciences, Physical sciencesPhysical An intramolecular valence bond, atom or chain of atoms that connects two different parts of a molecule; the atoms so connected being bridgeheads.
A low wall or vertical partition in the fire chamber of a furnace, for deflecting flame, etc.; a bridge wall.
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Cycling, Hobbies, Lifestyle, Sports The situation where a lone rider or small group of riders closes the space between them and the rider or group in front.
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A solid crust of undissolved salt in a water softener.
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An elongated chain of teammates, connected to the pack, for improved blocking potential.
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Card games, Games A form of cheating by which a card is cut by previously curving it by pressure of the hand.
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”). Cognates Cognate with Scots brig, brigg (“bridge”), Yola burge (“bridge”), North Frisian brag, Bröch (“bridge”), Saterland Frisian Brääch, Brääg (“bridge”), West Frisian brêge (“bridge”), Dutch brug (“bridge”), German Brücke (“bridge”), Limburgish brögk (“bridge”), Luxembourgish Bréck (“bridge”), Vilamovian bryk (“bridge”), Yiddish בריק (brik, “bridge”), Danish, Norwegian Bokmål brygge (“jetty, pier, wharf”), Faroese, Icelandic bryggja (“pier”), Norwegian Nynorsk brygge, bryggje (“jetty, pier, wharf”), Swedish brygga (“bridge; pier”). 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 sense of a part of a stringed instrument is a semantic loan from German Steg, from Old High German steg.
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To be or make a bridge over something.
With enough cable, we can bridge this gorge.
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.1947 January and February, H. A. Vallance, “The Sea Wall at Dawlish”, in Railway Magazine, page 18:
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To span as if with a bridge.
The two groups were able to bridge their differences.
Before another word was spoken Inspector Beedel had appeared, and the grip of bone and muscle on the straining wrists was changed to one of steel. Less than thirty seconds bridged the whole astonishing transformation.1927, Ernest Bramah [pseudonym; Ernest Brammah Smith], Max Carrados Mysteries:
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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.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:
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Entertainment, Lifestyle, Music To transition from one piece or section of music to another without stopping.