iridescent
- Showing luminous colors that seem to change when seen from different angles, like a rainbow or the surface of a soap bubble.
In a sentence
- The hummingbird's throat glowed in iridescent greens and purples that shifted with every tiny movement of its body.
- She held the soap bubble up to the window and watched its iridescent surface swirl with fleeting rainbows.
Usage note. The key to using 'iridescent' correctly is the element of color-shift depending on angle; if the color is fixed, 'lustrous' or 'shimmering' may be more precise.
Where it comes from
English iridescent — “shifting rainbow colors” · entered English 18th c.
Formed in English from Latin 'iris' (rainbow), which was borrowed from Greek 'iris' (rainbow, also the goddess of the rainbow), combined with the suffix '-escent' indicating a process or gradual state. Greek 'iris' is of uncertain deeper origin, possibly related to a root meaning 'to move quickly.' The word entered English in the early 19th century, around 1796, in scientific descriptions of optical phenomena.