IRIDESCENT

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Dr. Goodword
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IRIDESCENT

Postby Dr. Goodword » Mon Jul 09, 2012 11:09 pm

• iridescent •

Pronunciation: i-rê-de-sênt • Hear it!

Part of Speech: Adjective

Meaning: Displaying a rainbow of colors, shimmering with an array of multiple bright colors.

Notes: Today's Good Word is a beautiful one in both sound and meaning. It is related to irises, both the flowers and the colorful part of the eye. The adverb and noun are formed the usual way, iridescently and iridescence. (In the spoken language, that is simply the addition of the suffix -s to the adjective: [irêdesênt] becomes [irêdesênt-s.)

In Play: Certain objects are by their very nature iridescent: "Maude Lynn Dresser was the center of attention when she walked in with a new hat spuming iridescent peacock feathers." If you are an environmentalist, though, iridescence may not always be a beautiful sight: "The president of the oil plant wore a ring with an iridescent gemstone that matched perfectly the colors in the film of oil on the surface of the creek that ran by the plant."

Word History: The beauty of today's word comes from Greek iris (plural irides) "rainbow, iris (of the eye)" + (e)scent. The word for "rainbow" today is arco-íris in Portuguese and arcoíris in Spanish. Latin added the sense of the flower, iris, when it borrowed the word from Greek. The root of iris developed directly into Latin as viere "to twist", suggesting that iris is a suffixed form of Proto-Indo-European wi-ri- "to turn, twist". This same root turned up in English as wire, vine, and withe "slender, supple switch"—maybe willow, too. The semantic journey through Greek led from something that is colorful and arched (a rainbow) to anything as colorful as a rainbow. (Let us all bend at the waist in the direction of Tom Duffy for suggesting such a colorful word as our Good Word of today.)
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mikespeir
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Postby mikespeir » Tue Jul 10, 2012 4:40 am

Ooh! Do chatoyant! I like chatoyant. :-)

LukeJavan8
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Postby LukeJavan8 » Tue Jul 10, 2012 11:57 am

Interesting word. Where did you find it?
Chatoyant.
It is not in the OED.

Dict.com:
cha·toy·ant   [shuh-toi-uhnt]
adjective
1.
changing in luster or color: chatoyant silk.
2.
Jewelry . reflecting a single streak of light when cut in a cabochon.


M/W says:

Origin of CHATOYANT

French, from present participle of chatoyer to shine like a cat's eyes
First Known Use: 1816
-----please, draw me a sheep-----

mikespeir
Junior Lexiterian
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Joined: Thu Feb 17, 2011 6:26 pm

Postby mikespeir » Tue Jul 10, 2012 12:07 pm

You know, I don't remember where I first ran into it. I did use it in a story I wrote once, but it's one of those words you want to reserve for special occasions.

LukeJavan8
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Posts: 4423
Joined: Fri Oct 09, 2009 6:16 pm
Location: Land of the Flat Water

Postby LukeJavan8 » Tue Jul 10, 2012 12:22 pm

Well, it is indeed a beautiful word. I've put it in my
file of "Select and Choice" words. Thanks, let's
hope Doc picks it up!
-----please, draw me a sheep-----


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