cataract
- cataract
\ \ [15] Greek kataráktēs meant literally ‘swooping down, rushing down’; it was a derivative of the verb katarássein, a compound formed from the prefix katá- ‘down’ (which appears in a wide range of English words, including cataclysm, catalepsy, catalogue, catapult – literally ‘hurl down’ – and catastrophe) and the verb rássein ‘strike’. Hence it was applied metaphorically to various things that ‘rush down’, including waterfalls and portcullises. The word passed into English via Latin cataracta, and the sense ‘opacity of the eye’s lens’ developed in the 16th century, probably as a metaphorical extension of the now obsolete ‘portcullis’.
Word origins - 2ed.
J. Ayto.
2005.
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Cataract — Cat a*ract, n. [L. cataracta, catarracles, a waterfall, Gr. ?, ?, fr. ? to break down; in the passive, to fall or rush down (of tumors) to burst; kata down + ? to break.] 1. A great fall of water over a precipice; a large waterfall. [1913… … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
cataract — index spate Burton s Legal Thesaurus. William C. Burton. 2006 … Law dictionary
cataract — (n.) early 15c., from L. cataracta waterfall, from Gk. katarhaktes waterfall, broken water; swooping, rushing down; portcullis, noun use of adjective from kata down (see CATA (Cf. cata )) + arhattein to strike hard. Its alternative sense in Latin … Etymology dictionary
cataract — n *flood, deluge, inundation, torrent, spate … New Dictionary of Synonyms
cataract — ► NOUN 1) a large waterfall. 2) a medical condition in which the lens of the eye becomes progressively opaque, resulting in blurred vision. ORIGIN Latin cataracta waterfall, floodgate , also portcullis (sense 2 probably being a figurative use of… … English terms dictionary
Cataract — For other uses, see Cataract (disambiguation). Cataract Classification and external resources Magnified view of cataract in human eye, seen on examination with a slit lamp using diffuse illumination … Wikipedia
Cataract — A clouding of the lens of the eye. The normally clear aspirin sized lens of the eye starts to become cloudy. The result is much like smearing grease over the lens of a camera. It impairs normal vision. There are many causes of cataracts including … Medical dictionary
