# iris

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˈaɪ.ɹɪs/ · frequency rank #10,228

## Definitions
1. A plant of the genus Iris, common in the northern hemisphere, and generally having attractive blooms (See Iris (plant) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia).
2. The contractile membrane perforated by the pupil, which adjusts to control the amount of light reaching the retina, and which forms the colored portion of the eye (See Iris (anatomy) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia).
3. A diaphragm used to regulate the size of a hole, especially as a way of controlling the amount of light reaching a lens.
4. A rainbow, or other colourful refraction of light.
5. A constricted opening in the path inside a waveguide, used to form a resonator.
6. The inner circle of an oscillated color spot.

## Etymology
Etymology tree
Latin eira
Latin ira
Latin irisbor.
English iris
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.

## Easily confused with
- **is** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/iris-vs-is)
- **its** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/iris-vs-its)
- **IRS** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/iris-vs-irs)
- **ISS** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/iris-vs-iss)
- **IRL** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/iris-vs-irl)
- **ISI** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/iris-vs-isi)
- **Irv** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/iris-vs-irv)
- **it's** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/iris-vs-it-s)
- **iron** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/iris-vs-iron)
- **Isis** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/iris-vs-isis)
- **ISIL** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/iris-vs-isil)
- **Ives** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/iris-vs-ives)
- **Irma** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/iris-vs-irma)
- **Irish** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/iris-vs-irish)
- **Irwin** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/iris-vs-irwin)
- **irons** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/iris-vs-irons)
- **Irvin** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/iris-vs-irvin)
- **II** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/ii-vs-iris)
- **iOS** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/ios-vs-iris)
- **ins** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/ins-vs-iris)

## Common misspellings (5)
`iirs`, `iriss`, `irris`, `irsi`, `riis`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/iris