this post was submitted on 18 Feb 2026
618 points (98.4% liked)

Science Memes

19160 readers
2119 users here now

Welcome to c/science_memes @ Mander.xyz!

A place for majestic STEMLORD peacocking, as well as memes about the realities of working in a lab.



Rules

  1. Don't throw mud. Behave like an intellectual and remember the human.
  2. Keep it rooted (on topic).
  3. No spam.
  4. Infographics welcome, get schooled.

This is a science community. We use the Dawkins definition of meme.



Research Committee

Other Mander Communities

Science and Research

Biology and Life Sciences

Physical Sciences

Humanities and Social Sciences

Practical and Applied Sciences

Memes

Miscellaneous

founded 3 years ago
MODERATORS
 
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[–] Thorry@feddit.org 10 points 2 days ago

I think the use of the word bow for curve or bend was used before all of the uses you mention. It comes from the word used to describe something turning back or a person taking a bow or bowing down. Bow specifically meaning bend comes from the word bugan. Where the bow used in archery comes from the word boga.

All of these do have the same origin meaning bend or curve. Specifically a bend in a river or the action of bowing. I can't find definitively if these were once separate things or always the same word.

Note the use of "arch" in archery also meaning a curve.