- Irides
- Iris I"ris, n.; pl. E. {Irises}, L. {Irides}. [L. iris,
iridis, the goddess, Gr. ?, ?, the rainbow, iris of the eye,
the plant Iris. Cf. {Orris}.]
1. (Class. Myth.) The goddess of the rainbow, and
swift-footed messenger of the gods. --Shak.
[1913 Webster]
2. The rainbow. --Sir T. Browne. [1913 Webster]
3. An appearance resembling the rainbow; a prismatic play of colors. --Tennyson. [1913 Webster]
4. (Anat.) The contractile membrane perforated by the pupil, and forming the colored portion of the eye. See {Eye}. [1913 Webster]
5. (Bot.) A genus of plants having showy flowers and bulbous or tuberous roots, of which the flower-de-luce (fleur-de-lis), orris, and other species of flag are examples. See Illust. of {Flower-de-luce}. [1913 Webster]
6. (Her.) See {Fleur-de-lis}, 2. [1913 Webster]
7. (Zo["o]l.) the inner circle of an oscillated color spot. [Webster 1913 Suppl.]
8. same as {iris diaphragm}. [PJC]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.