Definitions
diaphragm consisting of thin overlapping plates that can be adjusted to change the diameter of a central opening
Word origin
From Middle English iris, from Latin īris, from Ancient Greek ἶρις (îris, “rainbow”). Presuming an earlier form *ϝῖρις (*wîris), possibly from a derivative of Proto-Indo-European *w(e)ih₁-ro- (“a twist, thread, cord, wire”), from *weh₁y- (“to turn, twist, weave, plait”). If so, it would be cognate to English wire.
Used in a sentence
“Pure, transparent, glistening in the sun, and irised by a thousand hues, which float and wave and spread in graceful and ceaseless motion on its surface!”
“The sun as it comes indoors out of space Has left a rainbow irising each glass— A refraction, caught then multiplied From the crystal tied within our window,”
“What's the matter, That this distemper'd messenger of wet, The many-colour'd Iris, rounds thine eye?”
Source: Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0
Used as a crossword answer1 curated clues
01“Eye part”4 letters
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