~ 1
■ noun
1》 a person who is taught by another, especially a schoolchild.
2》 Brit. a trainee barrister.
Word History
The two English words ~ are related to each other, and to poppet , puppet , and pupa , through their Latin root, pupa 'girl, doll'. Pupil entered English via Old French from the Latin forms ~lus (diminutive of pupus 'boy') and ~la (diminutive of pupa 'girl'); it originally meant 'orphan or ward', and did not take on its modern meaning until the 16th century. Pupil meaning 'the centre of the eye' is from the feminine form ~la (literally 'little doll' or 'young girl'): it acquired its English meaning from the phenomenon whereby one can see a tiny reflected image of oneself in another person's eyes.
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~ 2
■ noun the dark circular opening in the centre of the iris of the eye, which varies in size to regulate the amount of light reaching the retina.
Derivatives
~lary adjective
Origin
ME: from OFr. ~le or L. ~la , dimin. of pupa 'doll' (from the tiny reflected images visible in the eye).