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Explanation: In other words, what you have suggested.
I tend to agree with Phil here: the writer is trying too hard. It sounds pretentious, and the description is not readily understood. However, though etymologically "catenary" means chainlike, its only dictionary definition a shape:
"the curve assumed by a cord of uniform density and cross section that is perfectly flexible but not capable of being stretched and that hangs freely from two fixed points" https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/catenary
This does more or less make sense in the context; I don't know in what other sense the bangs could be "chainlike".
So it's not actually a semicircle (that would look very strange) but a much gentler curve, the curve made by a chain hanging under its own weight: lower in the middle than at either side (though not much lower).
As for "matching brows", this t presumably doesn't mean that the brows match one another (it would be very strange if they didn't, but that the curve of the bangs or fringe matches the curve of the brows, in the sense that the brows curve down towards the middle, though actually the curve is not exactly the same, as your own illustration shows.
"copper catenary bangs flowed over matching brows like the wings of a hovering bird"
We have been assuming that "like the wings of a hovering bird" refers to how the catenary bangs flowed over her brows, but it's quite possible to read it as referring to the brows:
"copper catenary bangs flowed over matching brows [which were] like the wings of a hovering bird"
That would meet your point about the shape of the wings, Tony.
Yes, we have to guess, because the description is not perfectly consistent.
On the matching brows, which is really the main basis for considering the widow's peak theory, I wanted to mention that although I took "matching" to refer to shape, it is perfectly possible, as you suggested, that it refers to colour. It would not be a tautology; it is not inevitable that her eyebrows were the same colour as her hair; they could have been naturally a different colour or she could have deliberately made them so. And "match" often refers to colour. (Not that it's relevant, but it so happens that apart from a brief period after my birth I have had dark eyebrows and light hair, now grey, all my life.)
Yes, I think a hovering bird's wings are often like that, but I find it easier to accept that the comparison of the shape of the bangs with that of a hovering bird's wings is only approximate than that the "catenary" bangs form a shape that is nothing like a catenary at all. A catenary is a very specific kind of curve.
Yes, in fact it's only another guess (I'd prefer to assume that the writer knew the meaning).
Or maybe he meant something in-between. These ones seem rather catenary-like, though of course not absolutely catenary, for me (and they do have an overflow, which is mentioned in the text):
Indeed, bird's wings take on a variety of shapes when hovering; but if you think of the classic way we draw 'stick' birds, it is very much in the form of 2 arched curves, isn't it?
But could that shape, by any stretch, be called "catenary" (unless the writer simply didn't know what catenary meant but kind of liked the sound of it)? I think that reading, which prioritises a literal reading of "matching brows" over the actual meaning of "catenary", is probably mistaken.
As for hovering birds, their wings can form various shapes; the point of that comparison is simply that the wings are normally a little higher than the body.
Wow, that's something I didn't consider before. A "widow's peak" fringe would make much sense in my context. The following looks seem to be very fitting, indeed:
The fact that the brows are "matching" seems to me to confirm my idea, at least in the sense that brows are usually upward-arching; but of course, it could mean something almost like a "widow's peak", where the halves of the fringe both curve in the same way as the eyebrows do.
I'm afraid that's not quite plausible. That's a fictional world (a fantasy novel), so the current collector would not work here at all. It should be some more or less universal form (of a rope/chain hanging between two points, as I can guess from all the definitions).
In any case it's good to know that I'm not the only one embarrassed by this weird word choice :)
AFAIK, "catenary" often means just a curve form (though it's definitely from the Latin "chain"): https://www.britannica.com/science/catenary From Wiktionary: (geometry) The curve described by a flexible chain or a rope if it is supported at each end and is acted upon only by no other forces than a uniform gravitational force due to its own weight and variations involving additional and non-uniform forces.
I would guess that this is the most plausible interpretation for this word in the function of an adjective.
I shouldn't think it means specifically 'semi-circular', but rather referring to the fact that they are eithe (a) hanging over the eyebrows or (b) shaped like not the actual catenary itself, but the pick-up that connext the current, which is usually a specific shape:
It's an odd choice of word, and I don't think it's very good writing because it doesn't convey a clear image. Catenary means chainlike - maybe they're looped across her forehead or something.
a fringe cut in a curve that is lower in the middle
Explanation: In other words, what you have suggested.
I tend to agree with Phil here: the writer is trying too hard. It sounds pretentious, and the description is not readily understood. However, though etymologically "catenary" means chainlike, its only dictionary definition a shape:
"the curve assumed by a cord of uniform density and cross section that is perfectly flexible but not capable of being stretched and that hangs freely from two fixed points" https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/catenary
This does more or less make sense in the context; I don't know in what other sense the bangs could be "chainlike".
So it's not actually a semicircle (that would look very strange) but a much gentler curve, the curve made by a chain hanging under its own weight: lower in the middle than at either side (though not much lower).
As for "matching brows", this t presumably doesn't mean that the brows match one another (it would be very strange if they didn't, but that the curve of the bangs or fringe matches the curve of the brows, in the sense that the brows curve down towards the middle, though actually the curve is not exactly the same, as your own illustration shows.
Charles Davis Spain Local time: 06:22 Meets criteria Specializes in field Native speaker of: English PRO pts in category: 236
Grading comment
Thank you
Notes to answerer
Asker: Yep, "semi-circular" was my bad writing, I just meant a curve (should have called it an upside-down gently sloping arch, I guess).
As to the "matching brows", my first guess was that they were copper-red, too, but now I see that it would be strange if they weren't, so it must be about their shape as well. Thanks for the hint!
peer agreement (net): +4