Iridescent

From: Andrew Barton <AndrewBarton_at_...>
Date: Mon, 25 Jun 2001 13:38:11 -0400

> No iridescent means 'changes colour depending on how light falls on
> it'. If the change is to a different colour of purple, or the bulk of the
> colours seen are purple, then it is described as 'iridescent purple'.

Well, this isn't worth beating into the ground, so I'll quote the Chambers entry (which appears to require more than one colour to appear) and leave it at that.

iridescence - play of rainbow colours, caused by interference, as on bubbles, mother-of-pearl, some feathers. adjective iridescent - coloured like the rainbow; glittering with changing colours.
Ety. as for Iris.
Iris ... the Greek Rainbow goddess.

In our world iridescence wouldn't include purple because it's a mixture rather than part of the rainbow, but that depends on some fairly deep physics and needn't apply in Glorantha. Is Iris a Gloranthan deity? Is there a myth about the rainbow?

Andrew