iris English · revision 39779

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=1373|origins=grc ἶρις}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /ˈaɪ.ɹɪs/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|la|īris|t=rainbow, iris of the eye, iris plant]],^(AHD 2024)^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(SOED 2002)^(Dictionary.com 2016) [[der|grc|ἶρις|tr=îris|t=rainbow]],^(Etymonline)^(OED 2026)^(Hoad 1986) whose stem [[m|grc|ἰριδ-|tr=irid-]] appears in [[iridescent]] and [[iridium]].^(OED 2026)^(Cresswell 2021)^(Skeat 1911) The Greek word also meant any brightly coloured circle, the iris plant and the iris of the eye,^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) and was the name of [[Iris]], the messenger of the gods, who appeared as the rainbow.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Cresswell 2021) Its origin is uncertain; it is traditionally derived from [[ine-pro|*weyh₁-|t=to bend, twist]],^(Etymonline)^(AHD 2024) which Klein connects with the original form [[m|grc|*ϝῖρις|tr=*wîris]], literally "something bent or curved", and with [[m|grc|ἴτυς|tr=ítus|t=rim]], [[m|la|vieō|t=to bend, twist]] and [[ang|wiþiġ|t=willow]].^(Klein 1966) The anatomical sense came through [[la-new|iris]].^(MWU 2024)^(Dictionary.com 2016)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ As the name of a flowering plant: 1373, a plant with brightly coloured flowers used in medicine;^(Barnhart 1988) Etymonline dates the plant name to the late 14th century.^(Etymonline) The OED's earliest sense is a kind of hexagonal crystal mentioned by Pliny, in Trevisa's translation of Higden's ''Polychronicon'' (a1387).^(OED 2026)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The coloured membrane of the eye was named ''iris'' in the early 15th century,^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) because it is the part that gives the eye its colour;^(Etymonline) the OED's first quotation is from 1525.^(OED 2026) The sense "rainbow" is recorded from 1490, in Caxton,^(OED 2026) and its transferred use for any rainbow-like play of colours from Shakespeare.^(OED 2026) The goddess herself appears in English from Shakespeare's ''Henry VI, Part 2''.^(OED 2026) The botanical genus name ''Iris'' dates from 1578, in Lyte's ''Herball''.^(OED 2026)^(MWU 2024) In photography, from 1911, the word named the adjustable diaphragm of a lens, and film-makers spoke of ''iris-in'' and ''iris-out'' for opening and closing shots.^(OED 2026) Johnson (1755) defined it first as the rainbow.^(Johnson 1755)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1373 – a flowering plant.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * a1387 – a prismatic crystal.^(OED 2026)

+ * early 15th century – the coloured part of the eye;^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) 1525 in the OED.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1490 – a rainbow.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1578 – the plant genus ''Iris''.^(OED 2026)^(MWU 2024)

+ * a1616 – the goddess Iris, in Shakespeare.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1816 – verb, to make iridescent.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1911 – (photography) an iris diaphragm.^(OED 2026)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # The round, coloured, muscular membrane of the [[eye]] that surrounds and controls the size of the [[pupil]].^(Collins 2023)^(MWU 2024)

+ # A plant of the genus ''Iris'', with sword-shaped leaves and showy flowers of three upright and three drooping parts.^(Collins 2023)^(MWU 2024)

+ # (photography) An adjustable [[diaphragm]] that controls the amount of light passing through a lens; an iris diaphragm.^(OED 2026)^(Collins 2023)

+ # (literary) A [[rainbow]], or a play of colours like one.^(MWU 2024)^(OED 2026)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[irid-]]

+ * [[irido-]]

+ * [[copper iris]]

+ * [[iris diaphragm]]

+ * [[bearded iris]]

+ * [[Spanish iris]]

+ * [[Japanese iris]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[iridescent]]

+ * [[iridium]]

+ * [[iridology]]

+ * [[iritis]]

+ * [[orris]]

+ * [[rainbow]]

+ * [[pupil]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}