Noah's Ark
Preserved but no longer current.
A name given by sailors to a white band of cloud spanning the sky like a rainbow and in shape something like the hull- of a ship. If east and west expect dry weather, if north and south expect wet.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “Noah's Ark” mean?
A name given by sailors to a white band of cloud spanning the sky like a rainbow and in shape something like the hull- of a ship. If east and west expect dry weather, if north and south expect wet.
Is “Noah's Ark” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.