Translingual

The Siberian iris (Iris sibirica), a species of flowering plant

Etymology

Ancient Greek Ἶρις ‎(Îris, “the messenger of the gods; a rainbow; the iris (of the eye); the flower”)

Proper noun

Iris f

1. A taxonomic genus within the family Iridaceae – the irises.
2. A taxonomic genus within the family Tarachodidae – certain of the mantises.

Hypernyms

• (genus of flowers): Plantae - kingdom; angiosperms, monocots - clades; Asparagales - order; Iridaceae - family; Iridoideae - subfamily; Irideae - tribe

Hyponyms

• (genus of flowers): Iris subg. Hermodactyloides, Iris subg. Iris, Iris subg. Limniris, Iris subg. Nepalensis, Iris subg. Scorpiris, Iris subg. Xiphium - subgenera
  • Iris germanica - type species

Translations

English

Iris, a messenger of the gods in Greek mythology, shown on a pot

Iris astronomical symbol

Proper noun

Iris

1. (Greek mythology) A messenger of the gods, and goddess of rainbows.
   • 1598 William Shakespeare: All's Well That Ends Well: Act I, Scene III :

     What's the matter, / That this distemper'd messenger of wet, / The many-colour'd Iris, rounds thine eye?

2. A female given name; a flower name used since the end of the 19th century.
   • 1990 Joyce Carol Oates, Because It Is Bitter, And Because It Is My Heart, ISBN 0452265819 page 39:

     Persia tells Iris she is named for something special: the iris of the eye. "I thought I was named for a flower," Iris says, disappointed. "An iris is a flower, of course," Persia says, smiling, "but it's this other, too. Our secret. 'The iris of the eye'." "The eye?" Persia snaps her fingers in Iris's eyes. The gesture is so rude and unexpected, Iris will remember it all her life. After this disclosure, Iris doesn't know whether she likes her name any more.

3. (astronomy) Short for 7 Iris, a main belt asteroid.

Derived terms

• Iridian

Translations

Danish

Proper noun

Iris

1. (Greek mythology) Iris
2. A female given name.

Estonian

Proper noun

Iris

1. (Greek mythology) Iris
2. A female given name.

Related terms

• Iiris

Faroese

Proper noun

Iris f

1. A female given name

Usage notes

Matronymics

• son of Iris: Irisarson
• daughter of Iris: Irisardóttir

Declension

French

Proper noun

Iris

1. (Greek mythology) Iris
2. A female given name.

German

Noun

Iris f

1. (anatomy) iris

Synonyms

• Regenbogenhaut

Proper noun

Iris

1. (Greek mythology) Iris
2. A female given name.

Norwegian

Proper noun

Iris

1. (Greek mythology) Iris
2. A female given name.

Swedish

Proper noun

Iris

1. (Greek mythology) Iris
2. A female given name.

English

iris on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Noun

A plant of the genus, Iris.

Illustration showing parts of the human eye, including the iris.

iris ‎(plural irises or iris or irides) (See Usage notes)

1. (botany) A plant of the genus Iris, common in the northern hemisphere, and generally having attractive blooms (See Iris (plant) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia ).
   • 1907, Robert W[illiam] Chambers, “chapter V”, in The Younger Set (Project Gutenberg; EBook #14852), New York, N.Y.: A. L. Burt Company, published 1 February 2005 (Project Gutenberg version), OCLC 4241346:

     Breezes blowing from beds of iris quickened her breath with their perfume; she saw the tufted lilacs sway in the wind, and the streamers of mauve-tinted wistaria swinging, all a-glisten with golden bees; she saw a crimson cardinal winging through the foliage, and amorous tanagers flashing like scarlet flames athwart the pines.

2. (anatomy) The contractile membrane perforated by the pupil, which adjusts to control the amount of light reaching the retina, and which forms the colored portion of the eye (See Iris (anatomy) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia ).
3. (photography, cinematography) A diaphragm used to regulate the size of a hole, especially as a way of controlling the amount of light reaching a lens.
4. (poetic) A rainbow, or other colourful refraction of light.
5. (electronics) A constricted opening in the path inside a waveguide, used to form a resonator.
6. (zoology) The inner circle of an oscillated color spot.

Usage notes

For the part of the eye, the usual medical plural is irides.
For the flower both iris and irises are in common use.

Quotations

plural iris

• 1989, Ann Lovejoy, The Year in Bloom

  Is there anything more spectacular than the bearded iris in their short season?

• 1996, Katherine Grace Endicott, Northern California Gardening

  Tall bearded iris are in bloom now.

• 2004, Diana Beresford-Kroeger, A Garden for Life

  The bulbous iris are important because their early flowers provide a food source for bees and early flying insects.

plural irides

• 1843, The Penny Cyclopaedia of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge

  In colour the irides are straw-yellow, the pupils black; forehead, nape, and back, very dark bluish-black; [...]

• 1989, Robert S Ridgely, The Birds of South America

  As in the caciques, bills are sharply pointed and pale, while irides are usually pale blue.

• 2001, John V Forrester et al., The Eye

  Later in life brown irides are the result of heavily pigmented melanocytes within the stroma.

plural irises

• 1987, Pamela Harper, Frederick McGourty, Perennials

  Tall bearded irises are easy to grow but not always easy to grow well.

• 2000, Kevin C Voughn, Louisiana Iris

  Most iris lovers feel that Louisiana irises are now large enough.

• 2002, John E Bryan, Bulbs

  All these irises are sold as dry, dormant bulbs in fall.

Derived terms

Translations

See also

• Iris (plant)
• Iris (anatomy)

Verb

iris ‎(third-person singular simple present irises, present participle irising, simple past and past participle irised)

1. (of an aperture, lens, or door) To open or close in the manner of an iris.

Dutch

Pronunciation

Noun

iris c ‎(plural irissen, diminutive irisje n)

1. iris

Synonyms

• (anatomy): regenboogvlies

Esperanto

Verb

iris

1. past of iri

French

Etymology

Borrowing from Latin iris, Ancient Greek ἶρις ‎(îris).

Pronunciation

Noun

iris m ‎(plural iris)

1. iris

Ido

Verb

iris

1. past of irar

Indonesian

Noun

iris

1. slice

Verb

mengiris

1. to slice

Irish

Etymology 1

From Old Irish iris f ‎(“a thong or strap (from which a shield, bag, etc. is suspended)”).

Noun

iris f ‎(genitive singular irise, nominative plural irisí)

1. strap, sling (for carrying)

Declension

Etymology 2

From Old Irish ires, iress f ‎(“religion, creed, the (true) faith”).

Noun

iris f ‎(genitive singular irise)

1. (literary) belief, faith, religion

Declension

Alternative forms

• ireas f

Etymology 3

Noun

iris f ‎(genitive singular irise, nominative plural irisí)

1. magazine, journal
2. gazette

Declension

Synonyms

• (magazine, journal): irisleabhar

Derived terms

• iriseoir m ‎(“journalist”)

Related terms

• iriseoireacht f ‎(“journalism”)

Etymology 4

Noun

iris m

1. genitive singular of ireas
2. vocative singular of ireas
3. nominative plural of ireas
4. dative plural of ireas

Mutation

References

• "iris" in Foclóir Gaeilge-Béarla, An Gúm, 1977, by Niall Ó Dónaill.
• “iris” in Dictionary of the Irish Language, Royal Irish Academy, 1913–76.
• “ires(s)” in Dictionary of the Irish Language, Royal Irish Academy, 1913–76.

Italian

Etymology

Borrowing from Latin iris, Ancient Greek ἶρις ‎(îris).

Noun

iris m, f ‎(invariable)

1. iris (flower)

Synonyms

• giaggiolo, iride

Anagrams

• risi

Latin

Noun

īrīs

1. dative plural of īra
2. ablative plural of īra

Norwegian Bokmål

Etymology

Borrowing from Ancient Greek ἶρις ‎(îris, “rainbow”)

Noun

iris m ‎(definite singular irisen, indefinite plural iriser, definite plural irisene)

1. (botany) an iris (flower)
2. (anatomy) an iris (part of the eye)

Synonyms

• regnbuehinne (part of the eye)

References

• “iris” in The Bokmål Dictionary.

Norwegian Nynorsk

Etymology

Borrowing from Ancient Greek ἶρις ‎(îris, “rainbow”)

Noun

iris m ‎(definite singular irisen, indefinite plural irisar, definite plural irisane)

1. (botany) an iris (flower)
2. (anatomy) an iris (part of the eye)

Synonyms

• regnbogehinne (part of the eye)

References

• “iris” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

Portuguese

Noun

iris f (plural iris)

1. Obsolete spelling of íris

Romanian

Etymology

Borrowing from French iris, Latin iris, from Ancient Greek ἶρις ‎(îris).

Noun

iris n ‎(plural irisuri)

1. (anatomy) iris (of the eye)

Noun

iris n ‎(plural iriși)

1. (botany) iris (flower)

Synonyms

• stânjenel, stânjen

Scottish Gaelic

Etymology

Compare Irish iris.

Noun

iris f ‎(genitive singular irise, plural irisean)

1. magazine, periodical

Synonyms

• ràitheachan

Spanish

Etymology

Borrowing from Latin iris, Ancient Greek ἶρις ‎(îris).

Noun

iris m ‎(plural iris or iríses)

1. (anatomy) iris

Derived terms

• arco iris