[医] 虹膜

Iris \I"ris\, n.; pl. E. {Irises}, L. {Irides}. [L. iris,
iridis, the goddess, Gr. ?, ?, the rainbow, iris of the eye,
the plant Iris. Cf. {Orris}.]
1. (Class. Myth.) 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.) The contractile membrane perforated by the pupil,
and forming the colored portion of the eye. See {Eye}.

5. (Bot.) 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.) See {Fleur-de-lis}, 2.

7. (Zo["o]l.) the inner circle of an oscillated color spot.
[Webster 1913 Suppl.]

8. same as {iris diaphragm}.
[PJC]