@readsteven that's just what I was talking about! I don't know what a floppy disk is, but "down folder" should make sense?
I've been thinking though, it probably doesn't really matter: humans have language and can assign meaning to any symbol they can consistently recognize (and even some they can't!). it's probably more important that the visual language you use has internal consistency, and that different icons look different enough. bonus points for using symbols (icons) your users will already recognize without training