opalescence
noun
- Optical iridescence phenomena characteristic of the opal gemstone
Wiktionary
Pronunciation: /ˌəʉpəˈlesəns/
noun
Etymology: Etymology tree English opal Proto-Indo-European *-éh₁ti Proto-Indo-European *-sḱéti Proto-Indo-European *-éh₁sḱeti Proto-Italic *-ēskō Latin -ēscō Latin -escensder. English -escence English opalescence From opal + -escence.
- the state of being opalescent
- the milky iridescent appearance of a dense transparent medium when it is illuminated by polychromatic visible radiation (such as sunlight) due to local fluctuations in its density and therefore in its refractive index