SG Heritage Dictionary

Iris [Noun] Webster's Dictionary 1828

1. plural irises. [Latin iris iridis, the rainbow.]

2. The rainbow.

3. An appearance resembling the rainbow.

4. The colored circle which surrounds the pupil of the eye, by means of which that opening is enlarged and diminished.

5. The changeable colors which sometimes appear in the glasses of telescopes, microscopes, etc.

6. A colored spectrum which a triangular glass prism casts on a wall, when placed at a due angle in the sun-beams.

7. The flower-de-lis, or flag-=flower, a genus of many species.

Iris [Noun] Webster's Dictionary 1913

1. The goddess of the rainbow, and swift-footed messenger of the gods.

2. The rainbow.

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

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

5. 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. See Fleur-de-lis, 2.

Iris Encyclopedia Britannica

IRIS, the rainbow, was personified as one of the secondary deities of Olympus, and occurs very frequently both in art and in literature. As the rainbow unites earth and heaven, Iris is the messenger of the gods to men; in this capacity she is mentioned frequently in the Iliad, but never in the Odyssey, where Hermes takes her place. According to Hesiod (Theog. 260) she is the daughter of Thaumas and Electra and sister of the Harpies, the stormwinds. With the swiftness of the wind (d∈λλoτroς, 7roδτ)ι∕ςuos) she penetrates everywhere, bearing the messages of heaven. She often carries the caduceus, the herald’s staff of Hermes. An epithet frequently applied to her is “golden-winged” (χρυσόφτερος), and in painting and sculpture she is always represented with wings. In the absence of other criteria, it is sometimes difficult to distinguish her from Nike. The latter is more frequently attendant on Athene, while Iris offener accompanies Hera....

IRIS. The iris flower belongs to the natural family Iridacex, of the class monocotyledons, and to the petaloid division with inferior ovary and only three stamens, (the outer series), being thus distinguished from the Amaryllis family, which has six stamens. They are handsome showy-flowered plants, the Greek name iris having been applied on account of the hues of the flowers. Two of the species are British,— I. Pseudacorus, or yellow flag, and the I. foetidissima, the foetid iris or roast-beef plant, with bluepurple rarely yellow flowers. The former species is widely distributed; the latter is English, although naturalized in Scotland and Ireland. The roasted seeds of I. Pseudacorus have been used as a substitute for coffee. Iris florentina, with white or pale blue flowers, is a native of the south of Europe, and is the source of the violet-scented orris root used in perfumery. Iris versicolor, or blue flag, is indigenous to North America, and yields “iridin,” a powerful hepatic stimulant. Ims germanica of central Europe, “the most common purple Fleur de Luce” of Ray, is the large common blue iris of gardens, the bearded iris or fleur de luce. From the flowers of Iris florentina a pigment—the “verdelis,” “vert d’iris,” or iris-green, formerly used by miniature painters—was prepared by maceration, the fluid being left to putrefy, when chalk or alum was added. The garden plants known as the Spanish iris and the English iris are both of Spanish origin, and have very showy flowers. Along with some other species, as I. reticulata and I. persica, both of which are fragrant, they form great favourites with florists. All these just mentioned differ from those formerly named in the nature of the underground stem, which is tuberous and not a rhizome as in I. Pseudacorus, florentina, &c. Modern botanists separate these bulbous irises from the genus Ims, and place them apart in the genus Xiphium, the Spanish iris,— I. Xiphium of the older botanists being now known as Xiphium vulgare. As defined by Baker, Xiphium includes 15 species, all from the Mediterranean region and the East, and Iris 81 species, mostly from the northern temperate region. Remains of three species of Ims have been met with in a fossil state, in rocks of Tertiary age.

9th ed. Encyclopædia Britannica, vol. 13, p. 276
[157 words — estimated reading time: 1 minute]

Irisated [Adjective] Webster's Dictionary 1828

Exhibiting the prismatic colors; resembling the rainbow.

Irisated [Adjective] Webster's Dictionary 1913

Exhibiting the prismatic colors; irised; iridescent.

Iriscope [Noun] Webster's Dictionary 1913

A philosophical toy for exhibiting the prismatic tints by means of thin films.

Irised [Adjective] Webster's Dictionary 1828

Containing colors like those of the rainbow.

Irised [Adjective] Webster's Dictionary 1913

Having colors like those of the rainbow; iridescent.

Irises [Plural] Webster's Dictionary 1913

of Iris

Irish [Adjective] Webster's Dictionary 1828

Pertaining to Ireland.

Irish [Noun] Webster's Dictionary 1828

1. A native of Ireland.

2. The language of the Irish; the Hiberno-Celtic.

Irish [Adjective] Webster's Dictionary 1913

Of or pertaining to Ireland or to its inhabitants; produced in Ireland.

Irish [Noun singular and plural] Webster's Dictionary 1913

1. The natives or inhabitants of Ireland, esp. the Celtic natives or their descendants.

2. The language of the Irish; the Hiberno-Celtic.

3. An old game resembling backgammon.

Irish moss Encyclopedia Britannica

IRISH MOSS, or Carrageen (Irish carraigeen, “moss of the rock”), is a sea-weed (Chondrus crispus) which grows abundantly along the rocky parts of the Atlantic coast of Europe and North America. It is collected for commercial purposes on the west and north-west of Ireland, and in very large quantities on the coast of Plymouth county, Massachusetts, United States. In its fresh condition the plant is soft and cartilaginous, varying in colour from a greenish-yellow to a dark purple or purplish-brown; but when washed and sun-dried for preservation it has a yellowish translucent horn-like aspect and consistency. The principal constituent of Irish moss is a mucilaginous body, of which it contains about 55 per cent.; and with that it has nearly 10 per cent of albuminoids and about 15 per cent, of mineral matter rich in iodine and sulphur. When softened in water it has a sea-like odour, and from the abundance of its mucilage it will form a jelly on boiling with from 20 to 30 times its weight of water. The jelly of Irish moss is used as an occasional article of food, and is a popular remedy in cases of chest disease. It may also be used as a thickener in calico-printing, and in America it is used for fining beer. In the neighbourhood where it is obtained it is utilized for feeding cattle. As found in commerce, Irish moss is frequently mixed with Gigartiηa mammillosa, G. acicularis, and other sea-weeds with which it is associated in growth.

9th ed. Encyclopædia Britannica, vol. 13, p. 276
[260 words — estimated reading time: 2 minutes]

Irishism [Noun] Webster's Dictionary 1828

A mode of speaking peculiar to the Irish.

Irishism [Noun] Webster's Dictionary 1913

A mode of speaking peculiar to the Irish; an Hibernicism.

Irishman [Noun] Webster's Dictionary 1913

A man born in Ireland or of the Irish race; an Hibernian.

Irishmen [Plural] Webster's Dictionary 1913

of Irishman

Irishry [Noun] Webster's Dictionary 1913

The Celtic people of Ireland.