Iridesces

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. Shows a shimmering play of changing colors across its surface, like a soap bubble or a pearl catching the light
2. Gleams with a rainbow sheen that shifts in hue as the viewing angle or the light changes
3. Reflects light in a range of shifting colors, producing an opalescent, rainbow-like shimmer

Etymology: "Iridesces" is the third-person singular form of "iridesce," a verb meaning to show iridescence, that is, to shimmer with shifting rainbow colours. The verb is a back-formation from "iridescent," which means that English speakers first had the adjective and only later carved a verb out of it by stripping off the adjectival ending. "Iridescent" itself is built from the Greek-derived "iris," meaning rainbow, which also gave us the eye's coloured ring, and the suffix "-escent," meaning beginning to be or becoming, as in "luminescent" or "effervescent."

Synonyms: shimmer, gleam, shine

Antonyms: dull