Iris

The rainbow has fascinated people since forever. This atmospheric phenomenon is present in almost every culture: one needs only to remember the Wizard of Oz, or Irish legends about a pot of gold behind the rainbow. But no one could talk about the rainbow as beautifully as the ancient Greeks who called it Iris.

According to Greek mythology, Iris was a goddess-messenger. The daughter of sea deities, she performed the role of a mediator between the heavens and earth as both sides used her help to communicate with each other. Few creatures could rival Iris in speed; thus the Greeks believed the rainbow was a smudge left by the hurrying goddess who wasted no time going between gods and mortals.

“Iris” traveled to the English language also very fast. Among the first recorded instances is a sentence from 1387 where the eponym stood for “prismatic rock crystal.” At around the same time, it began to be used in reference to certain species of colorful flowering plants, as well as to name a part of the eye (iris of the eye). On the other hand, the Merriam-Webster Dictionary dates the word “rainbow” (Gothic rign for rain and boga for bow) back to as early as the 12th century.

Although the same dictionary lists four different meanings of the eponym, there is little doubt as to which one is now the most popular. The iris flower, which stretches to some 300 species, grows in both cold and warm climates, which can explain why everyone from India to Norway has no problems in naming it correctly. In almost all languages, including French, German, Polish, and Hungarian, the multicolored flower is known as “iris.”

It is also the rainbowlike multitude of colors that earned the surrounding of the pupil of the eye this mythological name. “The iris is a delicate, loosely meshed mat of tiny blood vessels, nerves, muscles and flimsy connective tissue,” explained Time Magazine in 1932. “A circular system of muscles around the pupil opening acts as a draw string to decrease the size of the pupil in bright light.” This sensitive mechanism creates a bluish area, which after a closer examination, reveals its full colors.

Crafty Englishmen has transformed the noun form into a verb. In the early 19th century, some writers began to use “to iris” when meaning “to make iridescent.” Iridescent, on the other hand, is another eponym deriving from goddess Iris. Unsurprisingly it is defined as “having or showing shifting changes in color or an interplay of rainbowlike color, as when seen from different angles.” Reversing its meaning, a Time journalist commented on young movie stars in 1924: “[they] rise before the camera, harden into the semblance of cabaret girls, then iris out.”

Even those who reject the divine origin of the rainbow, must admit that it is one of the most beautiful creations of the world. Whether it is the smudge following Iris or the road to ineffable treasures or just an atmospheric spectacle, the rainbow adds the color to our black-and-white lives.