IRIS (irides)

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

Irregular inflected form: irides   

 Dictionary entry overview: What does iris mean? 

• IRIS (noun)
  The noun IRIS has 3 senses:

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

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

3. diaphragm consisting of thin overlapping plates that can be adjusted to change the diameter of a central opening

  Familiarity information: IRIS used as a noun is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• IRIS (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

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

Classified under:

Nouns denoting plants

Synonyms:

flag; fleur-de-lis; iris; sword lily

Hypernyms ("iris" is a kind of...):

iridaceous plant (any bulbous plant of the family Iridaceae)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "iris"):

bearded iris (any of numerous wild or cultivated irises with hairlike structures on the falls (the drooping sepals))

beardless iris (any of numerous wild or cultivated irises having no hairs on the drooping sepals (the falls))

bulbous iris (any of various irises having a rootstock formed like a bulb)

dwarf iris; Iris cristata (low-growing summer-flowering iris of northeastern United States)

gladdon; gladdon iris; Iris foetidissima; roast beef plant; stinking gladwyn; stinking iris (iris with purple flowers and foul-smelling leaves; southern and western Europe and North Africa)

Iris persica; Persian iris (bulbous iris native to Asia Minor cultivated for its pale lilac-colored flowers)

Iris pseudacorus; yellow flag; yellow iris; yellow water flag (common yellow-flowered iris of Europe and North Africa, naturalized in United States and often cultivated)

dwarf iris; Iris verna; vernal iris (low-growing spring-flowering American iris with bright blue-lilac flowers)

blue flag; Iris versicolor (a common iris of the eastern United States having blue or blue-violet flowers; root formerly used medicinally)

Iris virginica; southern blue flag (similar to blue flag; the eastern United States)

English iris; Iris xiphioides (bulbous iris native to the Pyrenees; widely cultivated for its large delicate flowers in various colors except yellow)

Holonyms ("iris" is a member of...):

genus Iris (large genus of perennials that develop from bulbs or rhizomes)

Sense 2

Meaning:

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

Classified under:

Nouns denoting body parts

Hypernyms ("iris" is a kind of...):

membrane; tissue layer (a pliable sheet of tissue that covers or lines or connects the organs or cells of animals or plants)

Meronyms (parts of "iris"):

pupil (the contractile aperture in the center of the iris of the eye; resembles a large black dot)

Holonyms ("iris" is a part of...):

eye; oculus; optic (the organ of sight)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Diaphragm consisting of thin overlapping plates that can be adjusted to change the diameter of a central opening

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Synonyms:

iris; iris diaphragm

Hypernyms ("iris" is a kind of...):

diaphragm; stop (a mechanical device in a camera that controls size of aperture of the lens)

 Context examples 

The iris helps control the size of the pupil to let more or less light into the eye.

(Iris, NCI Dictionary)

Administered as an ophthalmic solution, this drug stimulates the cholinoceptors in the sphincter muscle of the iris, causing the pupil to constrict.

(Acetylcholine Chloride, NCI Thesaurus)

Administered in the eye, cyclopentolate hydrochloride blocks the acetylcholine receptor in the sphincter muscle of the iris and the ciliary muscle, thereby preventing contraction.

(Cyclopentolate Hydrochloride, NCI Thesaurus)

The transparent part of the eye that covers the iris and the pupil and allows light to enter the inside.

(Cornea, NCI Dictionary)

Color of the iris depends on the amount of melanin in the stroma on reflection from the pigmented epithelium.

(Iris, NLM, Medical Subject Headings)

Diseases, dysfunctions, or disorders of or located in the iris.

(Iris Disorder, NLM, Medical Subject Headings)

The cells contain granules of pigment or melanin, as in the retinal or iris pigment layer.

(Pigment Epithelium, NCI Thesaurus)

Malignant melanoma of the iris often originates from preexisting nevi.

(Iris Neoplasm, NLM, Medical Subject Headings)

A congenital or acquired defect characterized by the presence of a hole in or adjacent to the iris.

(Coloboma of the Iris, NCI Thesaurus)

Surface membranes cover the eye and develop into the lens, iris and cornea.

(Eye Development, NCI Thesaurus)