From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Iris has three main meanings, related by their derivation from the Greek word for rainbow:

• Iris (mythology), a messenger of the gods in Greek mythology, identified with the rainbow
• Iris (anatomy), the sphincter around the pupil of the eye, named after the colors in human and animal eyes
• Iris (plant), a genus of flowering plants, named after the rainbow

• 7 Iris, an asteroid named after the mythological figure
• Hurricane Iris and Typhoon Iris, tropical cyclones in the Atlantic and the Western Pacific.
• Iris (genus), insects of the praying mantis family, in the subfamily Mantinae
  • Iris oratoria, the Mediterranean mantis
• 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, and electrical engineering
  • Iris (Stargate), a mechanical iris used in the television show Stargate SG-1
• Iris (color), an ambiguous color term, ranging from blue-violet to violet, derived from the flower

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

• Irises (painting), a painting of iris flowers, by Vincent Van Gogh
• Iris printer, a true color injet printer used for industrial prepress proofs and fine art printing.
• Iris (2001 film), about Iris Murdoch
• Iris magazine, a Dutch comic magazine
• Iris, a fictional queen in Piers Anthony's Xanth novels
• Iris (Mega Man), a fictional character in Mega Man X4
• Iris Piers a Dutch video artist.
• Iris, a pre-teen prostitute played by Jodie Foster in the 1976 film Taxi Driver.

In music:

• Iris (opera), an opera by Pietro Mascagni
• IRIS (Romanian band), a hard-rock band
• Iris (Texas band), a synthpop band
• Iris (British/French band), an instrumental rock band
• Iris (album), a 2004 electronic music album by Rosy Parlane
• Iris (song), a song by The Goo Goo Dolls from the film City of Angels

• Yeşil River, called Iris (Ίρις) by the Greeks

In business:

• Iris Associates, the company which developed Lotus Notes
• Iris Fund for Prevention of Blindness
• Iris (Management Festival), the annual management festival of Indian Institute of Management Indore

• IRIS, an acronym
• Iris recognition, a biometric technology for identifying individuals by the pattern of their iris
• Iridescence, a term derived from the mythological figure
• Orris root, an herbal medicine using the root of the iris plant
• Iridology, a form of alternative medicine focused on the eye

• Random House Word Maven - untangling the etymology of "iris"