Definify.com

Webster 1913 Edition

Eye

Eye

(ī)
,
Noun.
[Prob. fr.
nye
,
an eye
being for
a nye
. See
Nye
.]
(Zoöl.)
A brood;
as, an
eye
of pheasants
.
Description of illustration: a b Conjunctiva; c Cornea; d Sclerotic; e Choroid; f Cillary Muscle; g Cillary Process; h Iris; i Suspensory Ligament; k Prosterior Aqueous Chamber between h and i; l Anterior Aqueous Chamber; m Crystalline Lens; n Vitreous Humor; o Retina; p Yellow spot; q Center of blind spot; r Artery of Retina in center of the Optic Nerve.
☞ The essential parts of the eye are inclosed in a tough outer coat, the
sclerotic
, to which the muscles moving it are attached, and which in front changes into the transparent cornea. A little way back of cornea, the crystalline lens is suspended, dividing the eye into two unequal cavities, a smaller one in front filled with a watery fluid, the
aqueous humor
, and larger one behind filled with a clear jelly, the
vitreous humor
. The sclerotic is lined with a highly pigmented membrane, the
choroid
, and this is turn is lined in the back half of the eyeball with the nearly transparent
retina
, in which the fibers of the optic nerve ramify. The choroid in front is continuous with the
iris
, which has a contractile opening in the center, the
pupil
, admitting light to the lens which brings the rays to a focus and forms an image upon the retina, where the light, falling upon delicate structures called
rods and cones
, causes them to stimulate the fibres of the
optic nerve
to transmit visual impressions to the brain.
2.
The faculty of seeing; power or range of vision; hence, judgment or taste in the use of the eye, and in judging of objects;
as, to have the
eye
of a sailor; an
eye
for the beautiful or picturesque.
3.
The action of the organ of sight; sight, look; view; ocular knowledge; judgment; opinion.
In my
eye
, she is the sweetest lady that I looked on.
Shakespeare
4.
The space commanded by the organ of sight; scope of vision; hence, face; front; the presence of an object which is directly opposed or confronted; immediate presence.
We shell express our duty in his
eye
.
Shakespeare
Her shell your hear disproved to her
eyes
.
Shakespeare
5.
Observation; oversight; watch; inspection; notice; attention; regard.
“Keep eyes upon her.”
Shak.
Booksellers . . . have an
eye
to their own advantage.
Addison.
6.
That which resembles the organ of sight, in form, position, or appearance
; as:
(a)
(Zoöl.)
The spots on a feather, as of peacock.
(b)
The scar to which the adductor muscle is attached in oysters and other bivalve shells; also, the adductor muscle itself, esp. when used as food, as in the scallop.
(c)
The bud or sprout of a plant or tuber;
as, the
eye
of a potato
.
(d)
The center of a target; the bull’s-eye.
(e)
A small loop to receive a hook;
as, hooks and
eyes
on a dress
.
(f)
The hole through the head of a needle.
(g)
A loop forming part of anything, or a hole through anything, to receive a rope, hook, pin, shaft, etc.;
as, an
eye
at the end of a tie bar in a bridge truss; an
eye
through a crank; an
eye
at the end of rope
.
(h)
The hole through the upper millstone.
7.
That which resembles the eye in relative importance or beauty.
“The very eye of that proverb.”
Shak.
Athens, the
eye
of Greece, mother of arts.
Milton.
8.
Tinge; shade of color.
[Obs.]
Red with an eye of blue makes a purple.
Boyle.
By the eye
,
in abundance.
[Obs.]
Marlowe.
–
Elliott eye
(Naut.)
,
a loop in a hemp cable made around a thimble and served.
–
Eye agate
,
a kind of circle agate, the central parts of which are of deeper tints than the rest of the mass.
Brande & C.
–
Eye animalcule
(Zoöl.)
,
a flagellate infusorian belonging to
Euglena
and related genera; – so called because it has a colored spot like an eye at one end.
–
Eye doctor
,
an opthalmologist or optometrist; – formerly called an oculist.
–
Eye of a volute
(Arch.)
,
the circle in the center of volute.
–
Eye of day
,
Eye of the morning
,
Eye of heaven
,
the sun.
“So gently shuts the eye of day.”
Mrs. Barbauld.
–
Eye of a ship
,
the foremost part in the bows of a ship, where, formerly, eyes were painted; also, the hawser holes.
Ham. Nav. Encyc.
–
Half an eye
,
very imperfect sight; a careless glance;
as, to see a thing with
half an eye
;
often figuratively.
“Those who have but half an eye.”
B. Jonson.
–
To catch one's eye
,
to attract one's notice.
–
To find favor in the eyes (of)
,
to be graciously received and treated.
–
To have an eye to
,
to pay particular attention to; to watch.
“Have an eye to Cinna.”
Shak.
–
To keep an eye on
,
to watch.
–
To set the eyes on
,
to see; to have a sight of.
–
In the eye of the wind
(Naut.)
,
in a direction opposed to the wind;
as, a ship sails in the
eye of the wind
.

Eye

(ī)
,
Verb.
T.
[
imp. & p. p.
Eyed
(īd)
;
p. pr. & vb. n.
Eying or Eyeing
.]
To fix the eye on; to stare at; to look on; to view; to observe; particularly, to observe or watch narrowly, or with fixed attention; to hold in view.
Eye
me, blest Providence, and square my trial
To my proportioned strength.
Milton.

Eye

,
Verb.
I.
To appear; to look.
[Obs.]
My becomings kill me, when they do not
Eye
well to you.
Shakespeare

Webster 1828 Edition

Eye

EYE

,
Noun.
pronounced as I. [L. oculus, a diminutive. The old English plural was eyen, or eyne.]
1.
The organ of sight or vision; properly, the globe or ball movable in the orbit. The eye is nearly of a spherical figure, and composed of coats or tunics. But in the term eye, we often or usually include the ball and the parts adjacent.
2.
Sight; view; ocular knowledge; as, I have a man now in my eye. In this sense, the plural is more generally used.
Before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth, crucified among you. Gal.3.
3.
Look; countenance.
I'll say yon gray is not the morning's eye.
4.
Front; face.
Her shall you hear disproved to your eyes.
5.
Direct opposition; as, to sail in the wind's eye.
6.
Aspect; regard; respect; view.
Booksellers mention with respect the authors they have printed, and consequently have an eye to their own advantage.
7.
Notice; observation; vigilance; watch.
After this jealousy, he kept a strict eye upon him.
8.
View of the mind; opinion formed by observation or contemplation.
It hath, in their eye, no great affinity with the form of the church of Rome.
9.
Sight; view, either in a literal or figurative sense.
10. Something resembling the eye in form; as the eye of a peacock's feather.
11. A small hole or aperture; a perforation; as the eye of a needle.
12. A small catch for a hook; as we say, hooks and eyes. in nearly the same sense, the word is applied to certain fastenings in the cordage of ships.
13. The bud of a plant; a shoot.
14. A small shade of color. [Little used.]
Red with an eye of blue makes a purple.
15. The power of perception.
The eyes of your understanding being enlightened. Eph.1.
16. Oversight; inspection.
The eye of the master will do more work than both his hands.
The eyes of a ship, are the parts which lie near the hawse-holes, particularly in the lower apartments.
To set the eyes on, is to see; to have a sight of.
To find favor in the eyes, is to be graciously received and treated.

EYE

,
Noun.
A brood; as an eye of pheasants.

EYE

,
Verb.
T.
To fix the eye on; to look on; to view; to observe; particularly, to observe or watch narrowly, or with fixed attention.
Eye nature's walks, shoot folly as it flies.

EYE

,
Verb.
I.
To appear; to have an appearance.

Definition 2024

Eye

Eye

See also: eye and ẹyẹ

English

Proper noun

Eye

  1. (Britain, colloquial) the comedic magazine Private Eye.
  2. (Britain) The London Eye, a tourist attraction in London.
  3. A village in Suffolk, England.

Anagrams

eye

eye

See also: Eye and ẹyẹ

English

A human eye, showing iris and pupil behind the transparent cornea.
Compound eye of a species of fly, showing size gradation of ommatidia from top down. The ocelli are just visible at the top between the compound eyes

Noun

eye ‎(plural eyes or eyen (obsolete))

  1. An organ through which animals see.
    • 1922, Ben Travers, chapter 1, in A Cuckoo in the Nest:
      She was like a Beardsley Salome, he had said. And indeed she had the narrow eyes and the high cheekbone of that creature, and as nearly the sinuosity as is compatible with human symmetry. His wooing had been brief but incisive.
    • 1963, Margery Allingham, chapter 17, in The China Governess:
      The face which emerged was not reassuring. It was blunt and grey, the nose springing thick and flat from high on the frontal bone of the forehead, whilst his eyes were narrow slits of dark in a tight bandage of tissue.  […] .
    • 2013 July-August, Fenella Saunders, “Tiny Lenses See the Big Picture”, in American Scientist:
      The single-imaging optic of the mammalian eye offers some distinct visual advantages. Such lenses can take in photons from a wide range of angles, increasing light sensitivity. They also have high spatial resolution, resolving incoming images in minute detail.
    Bright lights really hurt my eyes.
  2. The visual sense.
    The car was quite pleasing to the eye, but impractical.‎
  3. Attention, notice.
    That dress caught her eye.‎
    • 1898, Winston Churchill, chapter 5, in The Celebrity:
      In the eyes of Mr. Farquhar Fenelon Cooke the apotheosis of the Celebrity was complete. The people of Asquith were not only willing to attend the house-warming, but had been worked up to the pitch of eagerness. The Celebrity as a matter of course was master of ceremonies.
  4. The ability to notice what others might miss.
    He has an eye for talent.‎
    • 1918, W. B. Maxwell, chapter 19, in The Mirror and the Lamp:
      Nothing was too small to receive attention, if a supervising eye could suggest improvements likely to conduce to the common welfare. Mr. Gordon Burnage, for instance, personally visited dust-bins and back premises, accompanied by a sort of village bailiff, going his round like a commanding officer doing billets.
  5. A meaningful stare or look.
    She was giving him the eye at the bar.   When the car cut her off, she gave him the eye.‎
  6. A private eye: a privately hired detective or investigator.
  7. A hole at the blunt end of a needle through which thread is passed.
  8. A fitting consisting of a loop of metal or other material, suitable for receiving a hook or the passage of a cord or line.
  9. The relatively clear and calm center of a hurricane or other such storm.
  10. A mark on an animal, such as a peacock or butterfly, resembling a human eye.
  11. The dark spot on a black-eyed pea.
  12. A reproductive bud in a potato.
  13. (informal) The dark brown center of a black-eyed Susan flower.
  14. A loop forming part of anything, or a hole through anything, to receive a rope, hook, pin, shaft, etc. — e.g. at the end of a tie bar in a bridge truss; through a crank; at the end of a rope; or through a millstone.
  15. That which resembles the eye in relative importance or beauty.
    • (Can we date this quote?) William Shakespeare
      the very eye of that proverb
    • (Can we date this quote?) John Milton
      Athens, the eye of Greece, mother of arts
  16. Tinge; shade of colour.
    • (Can we date this quote?) Boyle
      Red with an eye of blue makes a purple.
  17. One of the holes in certain kinds of cheese.
  18. (architecture) The circle in the centre of a volute.
Synonyms
  • (loop of metal): eyelet
  • (ability to notice what others might miss): perceptiveness
  • See also Wikisaurus:eye
Hyponyms

(An organ that is sensitive to light, by which means animals see): ocellus

Derived terms
Related terms
Translations
See also

References

Verb

eye ‎(third-person singular simple present eyes, present participle eyeing or eying, simple past and past participle eyed)

  1. To observe carefully.
    After eyeing the document for an hour she decided not to sign it.
    They went out and eyed the new car one last time before deciding.
    • 1859, Fraser's Magazine (volume 60, page 671)
      Each downcast monk in silence takes / His place a newmade grave around, / Each one his brother sadly eying.
  2. To view something narrowly, as a document or a phrase in a document.
  3. To look at someone or something as if with the intent to do something with that person or thing.
  4. (obsolete) To appear; to look.
    • Shakespeare
      My becomings kill me, when they do not eye well to you.
Derived terms
Translations

Etymology 2

Probably from a nye changing to an eye.

Noun

eye ‎(plural eyes)

  1. A brood.
    an eye of pheasants

Statistics

Most common English words before 1923: nearly · miles · real · #494: eye · sun · cut · everything

Anagrams

Umbundu

Pronoun

eye

  1. (third-person singular pronoun)

See also

Etymology

From Middle English eye, ee, from Old English ēaġe ‎(“eye”), from Proto-Germanic *augô ‎(“eye”) (compare Scots ee, West Frisian each, Dutch oog, German Auge, Swedish öga), from Proto-Indo-European *h₃okʷ-, *h₃ekʷ- ‎(“eye; to see”) (compare Latin oculus, Lithuanian akìs, Old Church Slavonic око ‎(oko), Albanian sy, Ancient Greek ὀφθαλμός ‎(ophthalmós, “eye”), Armenian ակն ‎(akn), Avestan [script needed] ‎(aši, “eyes”), Sanskrit अक्षि ‎(ákṣi), Tocharian A ak). Related to ogle.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /aɪ/
  • Rhymes: -aɪ
  • Homophones: ay, aye, I

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