a% stamen; . stigm 
Epidermis of Leaf of 
r showing the sto- 
ins 
der. 8. [c/>.] [NL. (Liniueus).] A genus of 
monocotyledpnous plants of the natural or- 
der Iriilece, tribe Mo- 
rwece, having the 
perianth 6-parted, 
the 3 outer divisions 
spreading or reflex- 
ed, and the 3 inner 
smaller and erect. 
The pod is 3- to 6-angled. 
They are perennial herbs 
with sword-shaped or 
grassy leaves and gen- 
erally large and showy 
purple, yellow, or white 
flowers. About 100 spe- 
cies are known, natives 
of Europe, northern 
Africa, and temperate 
Asia and America. They 
are widely known in cul- 
tivation under the name 
of fleur-de-lis (flower-de- 
luce), 2. Qermanica be- 
ing the common culti- 
vated form. The Wild 
species are very gener- 
ally known in America as blue fag, I. vergicolor being the 
larger blue flag and /. Virginia!, the slender blue flag. 7. 
verna of the eastern United States 
is the dwarf iris, and I. cristata of 
nearly the same range is the crested 
dwarf iris. /. Pseudacorus of Europe 
and Russian Asia is the yellow iris 
or yellow flag. The roots possess 
astringent qualities, and the seeds 
when roasted are used in Great Brit- 
ain as a substitute for coffee. 7. 
I fcetuligyima of western Europe is 
WJ / I / fia the fetid iris, gladden, or roast-beef 
plant. The orris-root of commerce 
is supplied by 7. florentina. This 
root possesses cathartic and emetic 
properties, and from its agreeable 
g , g ^ uaed , n m ^ g ^^ 
and hair-powders. Six extinct spe- 
cies of Iris have been described from the Tertiary deposits 
of Europe (one in Spitzbergen), and several allied forms 
from lower formations, under the names Indium ami Irites. 
9. A plant of the genus Iris. 
Each beauteous flower, 
Iris all lines, roses, and jessamin, 
Rear'd high their flourish'd heads. 
Milton, P. L., iv. 698. 
We glided winding under ranks 
Of iris, and the golden reed. 
Tennyson, In Memoriam, ciii. 
Iris blue. Same as Wee. Iris diaphragm. See dia- 
phragm. Iris disease, in pathol., herpes iris. Iris 
green. Same as sap-green. Snake's-head Iris, a plant, 
Iris tuberosa. 
irisated (i'ri-sa-ted), a. [< iris + -ate 1 + -ed".'] 
Rainbow-colored ; iridescent. 
A variety of hooks were used for different kinds of fish 
and according to the time of day, irisated shells being ap- 
plied at noon and in a bright sun, while white ones served 
early in the morning and late in the evening. 
Science, X. 115. 
irisation (i-ri-sa'shon), . [< iris + -ation.~] 
The process of rendering iridescent ; also, iri- 
descence. [Bare.] 
iriscope (I'ri-skop), n. [< Gr. tpif, a rainbow, 
+ OKoirelv, view.] A philosophical toy for ex- 
hibiting prismatic colors. See the extract. 
It [the iriscope] consists of a plate of highly polished black 
glass, having its surface smeared with a solution of fine soap 
and subsequently dried by rubbing it clean with a piece of 
chamois-leather. If the breath is directed through a glass 
tube upon aglass surface thus prepared, the vapor is depos- 
ited in brilliant colored rings, the outermost of which is 
black, while the innermost has various colors, orno color at 
all.accordingtothequantityof vapor deposited. The colors 
in these rings, when seen by common light, correspond with 
Newton's reflected rings, or those which have black centers, 
the only difference being that in the plate of vapor, which 
is thickest in the middle, the rings in the iriscope have 
black circumferences. 
Sir David Brewster, Philosophical Transactions (1S4 L), p. 43. 
ilised (i'rist), a. [< iris + -ed?.] 1. Contain- 
ing or exhibiting colors like those of the rain- 
bow. 
The gay can weep, the impious can adore, 
From morn's first glimmerings on the chancel floor 
Till dying sunset sheds his crimson stains 
Through the faint halos of the irised panes. 
0. W. Holmes, A Rhymed Lesson. 
2. Having an iris: used in composition: as, 
large-trued eyes. 
Irish 1 (i'rish), a. and . [< ME. Irish, Irysh, 
Irisshe, Irche, etc. (= D. lersch = G. Irisch = 
Dan. Ink = Sw. Irish; cf. OF. Ireis, Irois, Ir- 
rois), < AS. Irisc, Irish,< Iras (> Icel. Irar), the 
Irish (Inland, Irland, Ireland), < Ir. Eire, Erin, 
Erin, Ireland.] I. a. 1. Pertaining to Ireland, 
or to the people of Ireland, an island lying west 
of Great Britain and forming part of the United 
Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. 
Horn gaii to schupe draje, 
With his tjrixse felajes. 
Kiwj Horn (E. E. T. S.), 1. 1290. 
3182 
Clarendon owns that the Marquis of Montrose was in- 
debted for much of his miraculous success to the small 
baud of Irish heroes under JIacdonnell. 
Monre, Irish Melodies, Pref. to Third Number (note). 
The early Irish handwriting is of two classes the round 
and the pointed. Enajc. Brit., XVIII. 157. 
2f. Pertaining to the Celtic inhabitants (the 
Gaels) of Scotland; Erse. [Still sometimes 
used of the Scotch Highlanders.] 
Four thousand Irish archers brought by the Earl of Ar- 
gyle. Patten (Arber's Eng. Garner, III. 63). 
Ye Irish lords, ye knights an' squires, 
Wha represent our brughs and shires, 
An' doucely manage our affairs 
In parliament. 
Burns, Prayer to the Scotch Representatives. 
Irian bagpipe, a variety of bagpipe peculiar to Ireland, 
having an air-bellows, three drones, and a softer, sweet- 
er tone than the Scotch bagpipe. See bat/pipe. Irish 
broom, see broomi, i. Irish bull See bull*. Man 
Church Act, an act passed by Parliament for the dises- 
tablishment of the Church of Ireland (a branch of the An- 
glican Church). It received the royal assent July 26th, 1869, 
and took effect January 1st, 1871. Irish daisy, the com- 
mon dandelion, Taraxacum officinale. Irian duck, a 
stout linen cloth made for laborers' frocks and overalls. 
Irish elk. SeeeW. Irish furze. Seefurze, 1. Irish 
gavelMnd. See gavelkind. Irish harp, an early form 
of harp peculiar to Ireland. Irish heath. See heath, 2. 
Irish ivy, Jaunting-car, etc. See the nouns. Irish 
Land Act. Same as Landlord and Tenant Act (which see, 
under landlord). Irish moss. See moss. Irish point, 
(a) Irish needle-point lace of any sort. (6) Irish embroi- 
dery of any sort Irish poplin, potato, stew, etc. See 
the nouns. Irish Sisters Of Charity. See charity. 
Irish stitch, a stitch used in wool-work for grounding or 
filling in. It consists of long parallel stitches covering four 
or five threads of the canvas at once. Irish work, a name 
given to embroidery in white on white, used especially for 
handkerchiefs, etc. 
II. n. 1. pi. The inhabitants of Ireland, (a) 
The aboriginal Celtic race of Ireland. See Cettl. (6) The 
present inhabitants of Ireland, especially the Celtic part, 
and their immediate descendants in other parts of the 
world. 
So sore were the sawis of bothe two sidis, 
Of Richard that regned so riche and so noble, 
That whyle he werrid be west on the wilde Yrisshe, 
Henrri was entrid on the est half. 
Richard the Redeless, Prol., 1. 10. 
2. The language of the native Celtic race in 
Ireland. It is in age and philological value the most 
important language of the Celtic family, though its an- 
tiquity and importance have been much exaggerated by 
tradition and patriotism. The alphabet is an adaptation of 
the Latin. As heretofore printed, the letters, like the so- 
called Anglo-Saxon letters, are usually made to resemble 
a conventionalized form of the Latin alphabet in use in 
Britain in the early middle ages. Gaelic is a compara- 
tively recent form of the Irish spoken by the Celts of Scot- 
land. It differs but slightly from the Irish of the same age. 
Modern Irish is greatly corrupted in pronunciation, as 
compared with the Old Irish ; but it retains in great part 
the old orthography. As a living speech it is fast going 
out of use. 
3. English as spoken by natives of Ireland, 
with characteristic peculiarities (the "Irish 
brogue"). In an extreme form ("broad Irish ") English 
Irish has some Celtic features ; but some peculiarities, for 
example taste, spake, for beast, speak, etc., are merely for- 
mer English uses retained in Ireland but changed in Eng- 
land. 
4f. An old game similar to backgammon, but 
more complicated. Halliwell. Compare after- 
game at Irish, under after-game. 
Keep a four-nobles nag and a Jack-merlin, 
Learn to love ale, and play at two-hand Irixli. 
Beau, and Fl. t Honest Man's Fortune, v. 1. 
Abbreviated Ir. 
irish 2 t, . [< ire? + -isA 1 .] Wrathful; choleric. 
He was so fulle of cursed rage ; 
It sette [became] hym welle of his lynage, 
For him an irish womman bare. 
Rom. of the Rose, 1. 3811. 
Irish-American (i'rish-a-mer'i-kan), a. and n. 
I. a. Pertaining to persons of Irish birth or de- 
scent living in America. 
II. . A person of Irish birth settled in the 
United States, or a native American of Irish 
parentage. 
Irishism (I'rish-izm), n. [< Irish 1 + -jsro.] A 
mode of speaking peculiar to the Irish ; any 
Irish peculiarity of speech or behavior; Hiber- 
nicism. 
Master Willie had not quite got rid of all his Irishisms. 
Black, Shandon Bells, iii. 
Irishman (i'rish-man), n. ; pi. Irishmen (-men). 
A man born in Ireland, or one belonging to the 
Irish race. 
Truly, by this that ye sale, it seemes the Irishman is a 
very brave souldiour. Spenser, State of Ireland. 
Irishry (i'rish-ri), n. [< ME. Irishry, Irchery ; < 
Irish 1 + -ry.~\ 1. The people of Ireland, or a 
company or body of Irish people. 
The whole Irishry of rebels. Milton. 
The Irishry by whom he [Spenser] was surrounded were 
to the full as savage, as hostile, and as tenacious of their 
ancestral habitudes as the Scythians. 
Lowell, Among my Books, 2d ser., p. 143. 
iron 
2. Highlanders and Islesmen. Halliwell. 
Irishwoman (i'rish-wum"an), n. ; pi. Irishwo- 
men (-wim'en). A woman of Ireland or of the 
Irish race. 
Irishworts (I'rish-werts), n. pi. Same as Irish 
heath (which see, under heath, 2). 
iris-root (i'ris-rot), n. Same as orris-root. 
iris-swallow (i'ris-swoP'o), n. A swallow of 
the genus Iridoprocne. 
irite (i'rit), . [< ir(idium) + -Jte 2 .] A mineral 
substance from the Ural, occurring in minute 
grains and crystals. It was described as a compound 
of iridium, osmium, iron, and chromium with oxygen, but 
was later shown to be a mechanical mixture of iridosmium 
and chromite. 
iritic (i-rit'ik), a. [< iritis + -ic.~\ Pertaining 
to or affected with iritis. 
iritis (i-ri'tis), n. [NL., < iris, the iris, + -itis.~] 
In pathol., inflammation of the iris of the eye. 
Also iriditis. 
irk (erk), v. [< ME. irhen, yrken, erken = MHG. 
erken, feel disgust, < Sw. yrka, urge, enforce, 
press, press upon ; perhaps akin to L. urgere, 
urge: see urge.'] I. trans. To weary; give pain 
to; annoy: now chiefly used with the imper- 
sonal it. 
Thys discencion beetwene hys frendea sommewhat yrked 
hym. Sir T. More, Works, p. 38. 
To see this sight, it irks my very soul. 
Shak., 3 Hen. VI., ii. 2, 6. 
This ugly fault no tyrant lives but irkes. 
Mir. for Mags., p. 456. 
It irk'd him to be here, he could not rest ! 
M. Arnold, Thyrsis. 
Il.t intrans. To feel weary or annoyed. 
Swilke tales full sone will make vs irke, 
And thei be talde. York Plays, p. 401. 
If I should have said all that I knew, your ears would 
have irked to have heard It. 
Latimer, 4th Sermon bef. Edw. VI., 1549. 
Who not like them fraile pleasures do forbeare, 
But even Christ's easie yoke do irke to beare. 
Stirling, Domes-day, Fifth Houre. 
irkt (6rk), a. [ME. irk, yrk, irke, erke; < irk, v.~\ 
Weary; tired. 
Yn Goddys servyse are swyche men yrk, 
When they come unto the kyrke. 
MS. Harl. 1701, f. 30. (HalKweU.) 
Men therynne shulde hem delite, 
And of that deede be not erke. 
Horn, of the Rose, 1. 4867. 
irkt (6rk), . [<&, .] Weariness; irksome- 
ness. 
Pressed close by irk and ills of earth, 
Man looks above, 
And steady tends to clearer light 
And purer love. 
J. Upham, The Forward, VII., No. 5. 
irksome (erk'sum), a. [< ME. irkesome, irksum; 
< irk + -some.'] 1. Wearisome; tedious; bur- 
densome; vexatious; causing annoyance or dis- 
comfort, especially by long continuance or fre- 
quent repetition. 
A sity [sooty?] garment is yrkesome to neybors. 
Political Poems, etc. (ed. Furnivall), p. 31. 
Hee found ... a solitarie darknesse : which as natu- 
rally it breeds a kind of irkesome gastfulnesse, so it was to 
him a most present terronr. Sir P. Sidney, Arcadia, iv. 
Old habits of work, old habits of hope, made my endless 
leisure irksome to me. Howells, Venetian Life, ii. 
2f. Weary; uneasy. 
He could not rest, but did his stout heart eat, 
And wast his inward gall with deepe despight, 
Yrkesome of life, and too long lingring night. 
Spenser, F. Q., I. ii. 6. 
= Syn. 1. Wearisome, Tedious, etc. See wearisome. 
irksomely (erk'sum-li), adv. In an irksome, 
vexatious, wearisome, or tedious manner. 
irksomeness (erk'surn-nes), n. [< ME. irke- 
sumnesse; < irksome + -ness."] The quality or 
state of being irksome; vexatiousness ; tedi- 
ousuess; wearisomeness. 
Drunkards, 
That buy the merry madness of one hour 
With the long irksomeness of following time. 
B. Jonson, Cynthia's Revels, i. 1. 
Although divine inspiration must certainly have been 
sweet to those ancient profets, yet the irksftmnexs of that 
truth which they brought was so unpleasant to them that 
everywhere they call it a burden. 
Milton, Church-Government, Pref., ii. 
irneH, < A Middle English form of earn* and 
run. 
irne 2 t, . A Middle English form of iron. 
irnent, A Middle English form of iron. 
iron (i'^rn), n. and a. [I. n. Early mod. E. 
also yron ; < ME. iron, iren, yron, yren, irne, 
yrne, also, with loss of formative -n (regarded 
appar. as inflectional), ire, i/re (see ire 1 ), < AS. 
iren, older isen (> early ME. 'izen) = MLG. inen = 
OHG. twin, isen, MHG. isen, G. eisen ; later form 
