Iris

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

The rainbow.

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

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

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.

See Fleur-de-lis, 2.

muscular diaphragm that controls the size of the pupil which in turn controls the amount of light that enters the eye; it forms the colored portion of the eye

plants with sword-shaped leaves and erect stalks bearing bright-colored flowers composed of three petals and three drooping sepals