WordWeight : Weighing the Words

Pronunciation : I"ris, n.; pl. E. Irises
Part of Speech : L.
Etymology : [L. iris, iridis, the goddess, Gr. Orris.]
Definition : 1. (Class. Myth.)

Defn: The goddess of the rainbow, and swift-footed messenger of the gods. Shak.

2. The rainbow. Sir T. Browne.

3. An appearance resembling the rainbow; a prismatic play of colors. Tennyson.

4. (Anat.)

Defn: The contractile membrane perforated by the pupil, and forming the colored portion of the eye. See Eye.

5. (Bot.)

Defn: 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.

6. (Her.)

Defn: See Fleur-de-lis, 2.

Irides.
Source : Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913