Definify.com
Webster 1913 Edition
Cataract
Cat′a-ract
,Noun.
[L.
cataracta
, catarracles
, a waterfall, Gr. [GREEK], [GREEK], fr. [GREEK] to break down; in the passive, to fall or rush down (of tumors) to burst; κατά
down + [GREEK] to break.] 1.
A great fall of water over a precipice; a large waterfall.
2.
(Surg.)
An opacity of the crystalline lens, or of its capsule, which prevents the passage of the rays of light and impairs or destroys the sight.
3.
(Mach.)
A kind of hydraulic brake for regulating the action of pumping engines and other machines; – sometimes called
dashpot
. Webster 1828 Edition
Cataract
CATARACT
,Noun.
1.
A great fall of water over a precipice; as that of Niagara, of the Rhine, Danube and Nile. It is a cascade upon a great scale.The tremendous cataracts of America thundering in their solitudes.
2.
In medicine and surgery, an opacity of the cystaline lens, or its capsule; a disorder in the eye, by which the pupil, which is usually black and transparent, becomes opake, blue, gray, brown, &c., by which vision is impaired or destroyed.