- Ἶρις
- ἾριςGrammatical information: f.Meaning: Iris, daughter of Thaumas and Elektra, messenger of the gods (Il., Hes.).Other forms: -ιδος, -ινDerivatives: As appellative ἶρις, -ιδος, -ιδα, -ιν f. `rainbow' (Il.), aso of an halo of the moon etc. (Arist., Thphr., Gal.), as plant-ame `purple Iris' etc. (Arist., Thphr.; Strömberg Pflanzennamen 49), also name of a stone (Plin.). - ἴρινος (Com., Thphr., Plb.), -εος (Nic.) `made of the Iris'; ἰρώδης `rainbow-like' (Arist.), ἰρῖτις f. name of a stone (Plin.; Redard Les noms grecs en -της 55); denomin. ἰρίζω `to be iridescent' (PHolm. 7, 6).Origin: PG [a word of Pre-Greek origin]Etymology: The original form Ϝῖρις appears both from an inscription (Cor.) and from the epic metrics (Chantraine Gramm. hom. 1, 152). The appellative (Ϝ)ῖρις is by Bechtel Hermes 45, 156f. a. 617f. (thus Jacobsohn Herm. 44, 91 n. 2), Lex. 181 (where rather improbably the byform Εἶρις is explained from Ἔ-Ϝῑρις) on good grounds derived from averb `bow', which is also seen in ἰτέα and ἴτυς; an r-suffix is also seen in Germanic, e. g. OE wīr, OWNo. vīrr `metallic wire, twisted ornament' (Kretschmer Glotta 2, 354). Diff. Osthoff Arch. f. Religionswiss. 11, 44 (to (Ϝ)ί̄εμαι `move forward'). With the appellativum the name of the goddess is no doubt identical, s. Bechtel l. c. against Maaß IF 1, 159ff. and Solmsen Unt. 148. - Fur. 356 compares ἔριδας τὰς ἐν οὐρανῳ̃ ἴριδας H., and concludes to Pre-Greek origin; does Εἶρις point to the same?Page in Frisk: 1,735
Greek-English etymological dictionary (Ελληνικά-Αγγλικά ετυμολογική λεξικό). Robert S.P.. 2010.