[ExI] rain "bow" was RE: Brains grow and shrink like 'rainbows' as we age

[Tara Maya]

I think they had many less words in their language and were much less precise with terms than anyone in this group would approve. I also suspect that word usage went from concrete to abstract, not abstract to concrete -- so the general shape came from the thing used daily, the arch from the bow. 

Historically, peaceful applications of arches in architecture came after bows and arrows had been used for quite a while in more sanguinary pursuits.

Tara Maya
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On Sep 23, 2014, at 9:24 PM, Dan <dan_ust at yahoo.com> wrote:

>> 
>> The word comes from from Proto-Germanic *regnabugô ("rainbow"),
>> equivalent to rain + bow ("arch").
>> 'bow' originally meant any curved shape. like an arch or early simple bows.
> 
> Oh, so it goes the other way: bows -- as in a bow to launch arrows -- is really a specialization of that more general word for a shape. Interesting.