радуга

Inherited from Proto-Slavic *radǫga. The first element more likely derives from Proto-Slavic *radъ (“glad, dear, willing”) than folk etymology’s Proto-Slavic *rajь. Compare Russian весёлка (vesjólka, “rainbow”) (dialectal) related to весёлый (vesjólyj, “merry, cheerful, happy, convivial, gleeful, lighthearted”), Belarusian вясёлка (vjasjólka, “rainbow”). The second element from Proto-Slavic *dǫga would be cognate with Lithuanian dangùs (“sky, heaven”) and perhaps further Proto-Germanic *tunglą (“heavenly body”) together from a tentative Proto-Indo-European root *denǵʰ-.

Slavic cognates include Ukrainian ра́йдуга (rájduha).

A borrowing from Alanic, compare Ossetian ӕрдын (ærdyn, “bow; rainbow”), Classical Persian درونه (durōna, “rainbow”) is also possible.

• IPA^(key): [ˈradʊɡə]

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ра́дуга • (ráduga) f inan (genitive ра́дуги, nominative plural ра́дуги, genitive plural ра́дуг, relational adjective ра́дужный)

1. (meteorology) rainbow

   Synonym: (dialectal) весёлка (vesjólka)

• ра́дужный (rádužnyj)
  • ра́дужная оболо́чка f (rádužnaja obolóčka), ра́дужка f (rádužka)

• Szemerényi, Oswald (1967) “Славянская этимология на индоевропейском фоне”, in В. А. Меркулова, transl., Вопросы языкознания (in Russian), number 4, page 23
• Vasmer, Max (1964–1973) “радуга”, in Oleg Trubachyov, transl., Этимологический словарь русского языка [Etymological Dictionary of the Russian Language] (in Russian), Moscow: Progress
• Bogatova, G. A., editor (1995), “радуга”, in Словарь русского языка XI–XVII вв. [Dictionary of the Russian Language: 11ᵗʰ–17ᵗʰ cc.] (in Russian), issue 21 (прочный – раскидати), Moscow: Nauka, →ISBN, page 126