WORD NERDS QUIZ: What does iridescent mean?

By Barbara McAllister

What is iridescent material?

Is it…

A. Transparent
B. Shiny, light blue
C. Shimmering rainbow colored

ANSWER: C. If you have ever blown soap bubbles, you have probably noticed their beautiful iridescent colors. The word “iridescent” comes from Iris, goddess of the rainbow.
The Romans had gods for just about everything, many of which have lent their names to English words. Our words “flora” and “fauna,” meaning flowers and animals, are from the Roman goddess of flowers, Flora, and Faunus, the Roman god of animals. “Jovial” comes from the merry Roman god, Jove.
There are also more day-to-day gods like Limentinus, god of limes, and Cardea, goddess of the hinge. Then there are the less attractive gods, the awkward cousins who sit in the corner at the family reunions: Robigus, god of grain disease; Sarotir, god of weeding and hoeing; Verminus, god of cattle worms; Sterculius, the deity of manure or dung. Yes, there’s even a god for that. Stericulius also lends his name to the word “stercoraceous” (pronounced ster-kor-RAY-shus), meaning “dung-like or having the characteristics of manure.” You can decide for yourself how much use you’ll get out of that word.
The take-away here is to remember that no matter how bad a day you are having, at least you are not the god of dung.