Why Are Rainbows Named Rainbows?
Has anyone ever sat down and thought about why rainbows are named rainbows? Like, I know that they appear while there’s rain, but… bows? Maybe cause the shape is like a ribbon or something?
Anyway, maybe people first saw it in Ye olden dayes and was like ‘oh hey that looks pretty and would go nicely with my suit’ and they were a tailor or something. Then they spread the word!
Im trying to imagine wearing a rainbow in my hair. I think it would be cold and possibly wet. There would have to be rain, but closely contained to my head area, so I’d be soaked through in a minute. I’d also need light, so I could use a head torch. Or get my brother to shine a light in me at all times. But then I’d be blinded, so… yeah. The result of wearing a rainbow as a bow would be a soaking wet cold blind girl.
Why are rainbows not named something that’s actually correct like “water and light combined” or “colour arch”? Did someone see the colours and be like “colours… reminds me of a bow!” Coz that’s so obvious. Obviously.
Another issue with rainbows is that they’re always associated with leprechauns and lgbt+ (kinda annoying). So now I’m stuck with whenever I think of a rainbow, I think of gold and leprechauns and lgbt+. Sigh. They’re also considered “omg a rainbow omg omg omg so PRETTY OMG” aka Fatal Girliness. 🙁
I feel bad for rainbows now. Sorry about this. I asked my friend what I should write about and she was like “oh hey write about why rainbows are called rainbows” so thanks friend. You’ve made me feel bad for rainbows. Anyway, sorry about this random rainbow complaint and/or rant. Blame my friend.
12 comments
This is really interesting thinking about why things are called things, some things just don't make sense, like rainbow or noodles (noo? dles? what?) and others make so much sense it's ridiculously obvious, like fire place (whoever named it that must have been SO imaginative)
I don't think there's an issue with rainbows being associated with leprechauns and lgbtqia+ at all, one being part of irish folklore and the other is used as the flag, each colour representing something from the lgbtqia+ community, the rainbow both meaning something significant in each respectively. Also "fatal girliness" is a stigmatising term which actually stems from distilled sexism and thinking anything "girly" is wrong and/or unprofessional, which is ridiculous and a lot of people do this unconciously. Don't feel bad for the rainbow! It's an amazing natural creation and also a blessing when it shows up after a shower.
A) i didn’t say *I* thought of rainbows as fatal girliness and
B) Ireland is cool ?
C) I never said that rainbows and lgbtqia+ association was a *bad* thing, just I wish whenever I say rainbow people don’t go “ooooooo she’s gay” as if it’s a bad thing :(
In reply to indiaaqua
oof to the oooo she's gay that's just plain homophobic, why would anyone say that???!!! Rainbows all around!
In reply to rhapsody
Lmao gay leprechauns
I think simple names are cool. Also here is why noodles are called noodles.
In reply to bookwithbane
omg noodle noodle noodle a new fave word
In reply to rhapsody
Yaaaaaas noodle noodle noodle
Rainbow comes from the Old English regnboga. Regn means rain and boga means bow. Well we got the rain part down, but why bow? Well they don't mean as in the accessory. They mean the weapon. The curve of an arrow's path is akin to a rainbow's shape and also bows are shaped similarly.
Ah. I feel silly now.
In reply to indiaaqua
Don't worry, I just googled it ;P
It’s not just me that has a class that say “STOP BEING SO GAY BLA-BLA-BLA!” or “THAT’S SO GAY!” Right? What should I do? I don’t really like these comments do I tell a teacher or let them get away with it?
Ugh I feel your pain. I had this one really terrible homophobic class where everyone thought I was gay, which made me a target for homophobic "jokes" (I don't live in a progressive area lol)
The situation got better for me though. I switched classes and I went to see the teacher who led the school's Diversity Club (it's amazing, everyone makes rainbow stuff and eats biscuits)
My advice would be to tell someone who is close to you. Having someone to confide in makes stuff better, and they might help you decide what to do- I think an adult would probably be best. If it get really bad, go to your teacher or even principal or anyone who's responsible for bullying or anything like that
Sorry, this isn't a very good answer, but hope I helped :D