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• irid
  irid

  noun

  any plant belonging to the Iridaceae, the iris family.
• irid-
  irid-

  variant of irido- before a vowel.

irid

¹ American  

[ahy-rid] / ˈaɪ rɪd /

noun

1. any plant belonging to the Iridaceae, the iris family.

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irid- ² American  

1. variant of irido- before a vowel.

   iridectomy.

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Usage

What does irid- mean? Irid- is a combining form used like a prefix with several meanings:

• In medicine, irid- can refer to the iris, the colored portion of the eye.
• In botany, it can refer to the genus Iris, a family of beautiful flowering plants.
• In chemistry, irid- represents the precious metallic element iridium.

Irid- can also denote “rainbow” and “iridescent.” In fact, irid- comes from the Greek îris, meaning “rainbow” and “iris.”As you likely guessed, the Greek îris is the source of the English word iris and the shimmering word iridescent. In Greek mythology, Iris was the goddess of the rainbow and acted as a messenger to the gods. Irid- is a variant of irido-, which loses its -o- when combined with words or word elements beginning with vowels. Want to know more? Read our Words That Use irido- article.

Etymology

Origin of irid

1865–70; < New Latin, Latin īrid-, stem of īris iris