How to Pronounce Iris Melanoma

Say it as EYE-ris mel-ah-NOH-mah. The first part rhymes with 'eye,' and the second part sounds like 'melanoma' with the stress on the third syllable (NOH). Together it sounds like you're saying 'EYE-ris' then 'mel-ah-NOH-mah.'

The word has two stressed syllables: EYE in 'iris' and NOH in 'melanoma.' The biggest stress falls on NOH, so the whole phrase sounds like EYE-ris mel-ah-NOH-mah, with the emphasis at the end.

Many people stress the wrong syllable and say mel-ah-NOH-muh or muh-LAN-oh-muh. The correct way is mel-ah-NOH-mah, with the stress on that third syllable (NOH) and the ending sounding like 'mah,' not 'muh.'

The term has five syllables total: i-ris mel-a-no-ma. Breaking it down: I-ris (2 syllables) and mel-a-NO-ma (4 syllables), but they're often spoken together smoothly as one phrase.

'Iris' is the colored part of your eye—the part that controls how much light comes in. The word comes from Latin and the Greek goddess Iris, who represented the rainbow, probably because the iris comes in many different colors.

'Melanoma' comes from two Greek roots: 'melano' means dark or black, and 'oma' means tumor or growth. So the word literally means 'a dark growth,' which describes what this type of tumor looks like.

You might hear uveal melanoma, choroidal melanoma, or cutaneous melanoma—these all use the same 'melanoma' ending and refer to dark tumors in different parts of the body. You might also hear 'melanin,' which is the dark pigment that creates skin and eye color.

You might say: 'The eye doctor used the term iris melanoma when describing the dark spot in the patient's eye' or 'Understanding how to pronounce iris melanoma helps when reading medical reports about eye conditions.' The phrase is used as a noun to name a specific type of eye condition.