--- In
cybalist@yahoogroups.com, "Joao" <josimo70@...> wrote:
>>DJM> What comes to mind for a possible I.E. word is Greek 'iris'.
>>DJM> Does it have cognates in any other language?
>
>> Yes, in some Romance languages, possibly taken from Greek:
>> Portuguese: arco-íris
>> Spanish: arco iris
>> Italian: arcobaleno, iride
>> Catalan: arc de sant martí, arc d'iris
Actually, from Latin, since the word "iris" was used in Latin
language too, along with "arcus coelestis". Not cognate, simple
loanword (also rainbow goddess name).
>> but not in others:
>> French: arc-en-ciel
... same Latin.orig description pattern.
>> Romanian: curcubeu (probably unknown origin)
[...]
> Curcubeu reminds me Portugues corcova "hump", cf. Corcovado.
The word is also Spanish (Catalan has only "corcovat" as
Castillan loanword) and comes from (hisp.) Latin "cucurvus"
`curved` or (as suggested by others) from "concurvare" (`to
bend`). Romanian word looks connected somehow with the verb,
maybe through a derivative "*concurve:us" which would yield
regularly "cucurbeu" (with no asterisk, since this variant
still exists; the metathesis occured assuredly independently
of Ibero-Romance, after evolution to Common Romanian for
there is an intervocalic /b/ in "curcubeu").
Actual Romance words are rather new formations and do not
teach us too much about PIE root for `rainbow` (if any).
Regards,
Marius Iacomi