Iridescent
/ˌɪr.ɪˈdɛs.ənt/noun
Showing luminous colors that seem to change when viewed from different angles.
Did you know?Iridescent was coined in the 1840s from Latin iris, meaning both “rainbow” and the eye’s colored ring, so the word links divine color, vision, and celestial symbolism in one root.
Etymological Timeline
Ancient Greek
Greek
îris (ἶρις)
“rainbow; the iris of the eye; also Iris, the divine messenger goddess”
Latin
Latin
iris
“rainbow; iris of the eye”
Early Modern Scientific Latin
Latin
iridescens
“becoming like a rainbow; exhibiting shifting colors”
19th Century
English
iridescent
“showing rainbow-like colors that shift with the angle of light”
Modern English
English
iridescent
“displaying lustrous, changing colors like a rainbow”