Iridescences

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A phenomenon where surfaces or objects display a play of colors that change with the angle of view
2. a visual effect caused by the way light refracts through layered or textured surfaces
3. the appearance of luminous colors that shift and shimmer like a spectrum when illuminated from different perspectives

Etymology: "Iridescences" is the plural of "iridescence," a noun for shimmering, shifting colours of the kind seen on a soap bubble, a pigeon's neck or a beetle's shell. The singular is the older form, and the plural is used when several such displays or instances are being discussed at once. The word itself is built from Latin "iris," meaning rainbow, which the Greeks also used for the rainbow and for the goddess Iris, messenger of the gods. The "-escence" ending, from Latin "-escentia," marks a process of becoming or beginning to show a quality, so the sense is roughly "the state of taking on the colours of a rainbow."

Synonyms: shimmer, glow