Iris

Iris
   , IRIDESCENCE, IRIDIUM
   Iris was a pretty young girl who had the misfortune of being seen by the lustful Zeus. His jealous wife, Hera, turned Iris into a rainbow, and she became the goddess of the rainbow and the messenger of the gods. Whenever she had to convey a message to someone on earth, she took a convenient stairway down from heaven—a rainbow. Her name was derived from the Greek word for rainbow, and a sister word, iridescence, is a play of colors producing rainbow effects.
   Besides being poetically associated with the popular plant with large, beautifully colored flowers and with the rainbow, the name in English, is given to the colored membrane surrounding the pupil of the eye. The amount of pigment contained in the iris determines eye color. When there is very little pigment, the eye appears blue; with increased pigment, the shade becomes deep brown to black.
   Fleur de Us stands for "flower of the lily" in French (Us means lily). Fleur de Us is also the name of a design supposed to represent the white iris. The design became the emblem of the kings of France in the 1100s. Charles V changed the pattern to three golden fleur-de-lis on a blue field.
   The term irid is used also in indium, one of the densest terrestrial substances. It is a metallic element of the platinum group that, when combined with other elements, forms a substance with the various colors of the rainbow.

Dictionary of eponyms. . 2013.

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  • iris — iris …   Dictionnaire des rimes

  • iris — [ iris ] n. m. • XIIIe; lat. iris, iridis, gr. iris, iridos I ♦ Plante (iridacées), à rhizome ou à bulbe et à haute tige portant de grandes fleurs ornementales. Iris des marais, de Florence, d Espagne. Iris violet, jaune. L irone, principe… …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • iris — 1. (i ris ) s. f. 1°   Nom d une divinité de la mythologie grecque, qui était la messagère des dieux, et qui, déployant son écharpe, produisait l arc en ciel.    Fig. •   Je tiens à bon augure, de ce que MLLE***, qui m avait abandonné ces jours… …   Dictionnaire de la Langue Française d'Émile Littré

  • Iris — typically refers to:* Iris (mythology), in Greek mythology, a messenger god and the personification of rainbows * Iris (color), an ambiguous color ranging from blue violet to violet, from the flower of the same nameIris may also refer to:In… …   Wikipedia

  • IRIS-T — Allgemeine Angaben Typ: Luft Luft Rakete …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • IRIS-T — Maquette à ’échelle 1 de l’IRIS T (2005) Présentation Fonction Missile air air Constructeur Diehl BGT Defence Coût à l unité …   Wikipédia en Français

  • IRIS-T — Infra Red Imaging System Tail/Thrust Vector Controlled …   Википедия

  • iris — ÍRIS, (I) irisuri, s.n., (II) irişi, s.m. I. s.n. 1. Membrană circulară, colorată a ochiului, situată înaintea cristalinului, în mijlocul căreia se găseşte pupila. 2. Diafragmă cu diametru variabil, folosită la instrumentele optice pentru a regla …   Dicționar Român

  • iris — m. anat. Órgano muscular, contráctil y pigmentado que se halla situado por delante del cristalino y detrás de la córnea. Actúa como un diafragma regulando la cantidad de luz que incide sobre la retina mediante un orificio central (pupila) de… …   Diccionario médico

  • IRIS — can refer to: In technology * IRIS T, a German air to air missile * International Reactor Innovative and Secure, an advanced light water nuclear reactor design * Internal Rotary Inspection System, an ultrasonic method for the nondestructive… …   Wikipedia

  • iris — IRIS. s. f. Meteore qu on appelle vulgairement l Arc en ciel. Les couleurs de l iris. l iris se forme dans la nuë par l opposition du Soleil. Il sign. aussi, Une fleur qu on appelle autrement Flambe. L Iris se plaist dans les lieux marescageux.… …   Dictionnaire de l'Académie française

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