Iris

Iris, river: see Yeşil Irmak.

iris: see eye.

Iris, in Greek mythology, goddess of the rainbow; daughter of Electra and Thaumas. She was often represented as a messenger of Zeus and Hera.

iris, common name for members of the genus Iris of the Iridaceae, a family of perennial herbs that includes the crocuses, freesias, and gladioli. The family is characterized by thickened stem organs (bulbs, corms, and rhizomes) and by linear or sword-shaped leaves—small and grasslike in the crocuses and blue-eyed grasses. It is widely distributed over the world except in the coldest regions and is most abundant in S Africa and in tropical America. Almost all of the family's 90-odd genera include commercially valuable ornamentals. The iris family is closely related to the lily and amaryllis families, differing from them in having three stamens rather than six. The cultivated irises (genus Iris), freesias (genus Freesia), and gladioli (genus Gladiolus) show a wide variety of colors in their large, usually perfumed blossoms; they are mostly hybrids of Old World species. The many species of wild iris are most common in temperate and subarctic regions of North America, where they are often called flags, or blue flags. The fleur-de-lis is thought to have been derived from the iris, and the flower of the Greek youth Hyacinth may have been an iris. Orrisroot, a violet-scented flavoring used in dentifrices, perfumes, and other products, is prepared from the powdered rhizomes of several European species of iris. The freesias, native to S Africa, characteristically bear their blossoms on a horizontal extension of the stem. The crocuses (genus Crocus), which usually bear a single yellow, purple, or white blossom, are native to the Mediterranean area and to SW Asia. One species, saffron, is cultivated commercially for a yellow dye made from the pollen; the unrelated meadow saffron or autumn crocus and the wild crocus or pasqueflower belong to the lily and buttercup families respectively. Other members of the family found in the United States are the blue-eyed grasses (genus Sisyrinchium) with small clusters of blue, white, or purplish flowers, ranging from Canada to Patagonia, and the celestial lily (genus Nemastylis) with pairs of blue flowers, ranging from the Kansas prairies to Tennessee and Texas. Irises are classified in the division Magnoliophyta, class Liliopsida, order Liliales, family Iridaceae.

(born July 15, 1919, Dublin, Ire.—died Feb. 8, 1999, Oxford, Oxfordshire, Eng.) British novelist and philosopher. A graduate of the University of Oxford, she worked as a university lecturer while pursuing her writing career. Her first published work was a study of Jean-Paul Sartre (1953). Her novels, including The Bell (1958), A Severed Head (1961), The Black Prince (1973), The Sea, the Sea (1978), and The Book and the Brotherhood (1987), typically have convoluted plots featuring philosophical and comic elements. Her nonfiction philosophical works include The Sovereignty of Good (1970) and Metaphysics as a Guide to Morals (1992). Her decline under Alzheimer disease was chronicled by her husband, the critic John Bayley, in Elegy for Iris (1999).

Learn more about Murdoch, Dame (Jean) Iris with a free trial on Britannica.com.

(born July 15, 1919, Dublin, Ire.—died Feb. 8, 1999, Oxford, Oxfordshire, Eng.) British novelist and philosopher. A graduate of the University of Oxford, she worked as a university lecturer while pursuing her writing career. Her first published work was a study of Jean-Paul Sartre (1953). Her novels, including The Bell (1958), A Severed Head (1961), The Black Prince (1973), The Sea, the Sea (1978), and The Book and the Brotherhood (1987), typically have convoluted plots featuring philosophical and comic elements. Her nonfiction philosophical works include The Sovereignty of Good (1970) and Metaphysics as a Guide to Morals (1992). Her decline under Alzheimer disease was chronicled by her husband, the critic John Bayley, in Elegy for Iris (1999).

Learn more about Murdoch, Dame (Jean) Iris with a free trial on Britannica.com.

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 name

Iris may also refer to:

In science and technology

In biology

• Iris (anatomy), the sphincter around the pupil of the eye, named for the colors in human and animal eyes
• Iris (plant), a genus of flowering plants, named for the Greek mythological figure
• Iris (mantis), a genus of insects of the praying mantis family, in the subfamily Mantinae

In other sciences

• 7 Iris, an asteroid named after the mythological figure
• Iris nebula, a reflection nebula, NGC 7023
• Iridescence, an optical phenomenon in which hue changes with the angle at which a surface is viewed

Technologies

• Diaphragm (optics), a mechanical device found in cameras, which mimics the function of the biological iris
• Iris (diaphragm), any such mechanical device, as used in doors, pipes, or electrical engineering
• Iris printer, a true color inkjet printer used for industrial prepress proofs and fine art printing
• Iris (web browser), a web browser for mobile phones and embedded devices

In arts and entertainment

In music

• Iris (opera), an opera by Pietro Mascagni
• Iris (song), a song by The Goo Goo Dolls from the film City of Angels
• Covers of the Goo Goo Dolls song, recorded by New Found Glory and Ronan Keating
• Iris (British/French band), an instrumental rock band
• Iris (EP), an EP by the band Miranda Sex Garden
• IRIS (Romanian band), a hard-rock band
• Iris (Split Enz song), a song by Split Enz
• Iris (Texas band), a synthpop band

Fictional characters

• Iris, a fictional queen in Piers Anthony's Xanth novels
• Iris (Mega Man), a fictional character in the video game Mega Man X4
• Iris, a pre-teen prostitute played by Jodie Foster in the 1976 film Taxi Driver

In other arts and entertainment

• Irises (painting), a painting of iris flowers by Vincent Van Gogh
• Iris (film), a film about Irish novelist Iris Murdoch
• Iris (game), a game created to promote the video game Halo 3
• Iris (TV channel), an Italian movie TV channel
• Iris (Stargate), a mechanical iris seen on the television show Stargate SG-1
• Iris-In and Iris-Out, visual effects in cinematography

In transportation

• HMS Iris, Six historical warships of the British Royal Navy
• USS Iris, any of several ships in the US Navy that have been named after the mythological figure
• The Abraham Iris, a touring plane built in France before World War II
• The Blackburn Iris, a British military flying boat first flown in 1926
• The MV Royal Iris of the Mersey, the name of two Mersey Ferries operating on the River Mersey, England

Other uses

• Hurricane Iris and Typhoon Iris, tropical cyclones in the Atlantic and the Western Pacific
• Yeşil River, called Iris (Ίρις) by the Greeks
• Iris, Cluj-Napoca, a district in Romania
• Iris Associates, the company which developed Lotus Notes
• Iris Falcón (born 1973), Peruvian volleyball player
• Iris Fund for Prevention of Blindness
• Iris (Corporation Berhad), a company in Malaysia

See also

• IRIS (disambiguation)