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October 24

What is the origin of the term "rainbow baby"?

The expression seems to be common, but I was unable to find any source of information about who and when started it, or made it popular. White Spider Shadow (talk) 03:04, 24 October 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Courtesy links to Rainbow baby and wikt:rainbow baby. Neither can answer this question (yet). Commander Keane (talk) 03:21, 24 October 2024 (UTC)[reply]

In an issue of The Churchman from June 2, 1900, we see:

I call the little one the "rainbow baby" because he lives in the midst of all those bright cambric colors.^[1]

And in a book from 1910, we find about a child named Iris:

I recollect so well poor old Father telling me that it meant 'Rainbow.' We always called it 'the rainbow baby.'^[2]

And as late as 2000, we see this:

In fact "rainbow baby" is a term used to describe racially mixed children, particularly those of black and white heritage.^[3]

Uses in this sense of having mixed racial ancestry are found until around this time. The current sense therefore almost certainly became common only this century. --Lambiam 07:32, 24 October 2024 (UTC)[reply]

"Rainbow Nation" for South Africa is from 1994. Josephine Baker's controversial adopted "Rainbow Tribe" is from the 1950's. The reasoning has precedents. 惑乱 Wakuran (talk) 12:31, 24 October 2024 (UTC)[reply]

"Not found until around this time", you mean, presumably. Card Zero (talk) 22:21, 25 October 2024 (UTC)[reply]

That's more or less what I was looking for - although it's a completely different term, the article references Fred Hampton's Coalition as the origin. White Spider Shadow (talk) 03:35, 31 October 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Two questions

Are there any words in Spanish where ⟨i⟩ and ⟨u⟩ appear in the beginning of word before another vowel?
Are there any words in English where ⟨u⟩ is pronounced as /ʊ/ in the beginning of word? --40bus (talk) 20:25, 24 October 2024 (UTC)[reply]

What's an example of an English word containing that /ʊ/ sound? ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 22:05, 24 October 2024 (UTC)[reply]

The "u" sound in "put", apparently. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 14:25, 30 October 2024 (UTC)[reply]

40bus -- As I explained the last time you asked this question, I couldn't find any (other than doubtful interjections) when I was making File:Initial Teaching Alphabet ITA chart.svg... -- AnonMoos (talk) 22:12, 24 October 2024 (UTC)[reply]

P.S. That answer was actually as to any normal words beginning with /ʊ/ exist in English, but of course if none occur at all, then obviously none occur with a particular spelling. AnonMoos (talk) 19:11, 25 October 2024 (UTC)[reply]

In dialects that don't have the FOOT-STRUT split (i.e. Northern England English), almost all words starting u use /ʊ/ (any that in standard dialects would be /ʌ/). Most stereotypically, the word "up" - "It's grim oop north" as the saying goes - but it's also how the Yorkshire side of my family would pronounce "umbrella" or "unreasonable", for instance. Smurrayinchester 09:38, 29 October 2024 (UTC)[reply]

On Wiktionary: Iago (a male given name, variant of Yago); iatrofobia; iatrogenia; iatrogénico; ietsista; Ío (moon of Jupiter, priestess of Hera); iodo; iodopsina; ion; Ione (a female given name); iónico; ionización; ionizador; ionizante; ionizar; ionómero; ionosfera; ionosférico; ionotrópico; iota; iotización; Iowa; iowano; ióyana; iusnaturalista; iuspositivismo; uacarí; Uagadugú; ualabí; uapití; Uarzazat; uau; uigur; uintaterio. --Lambiam 12:10, 25 October 2024 (UTC)[reply]