n.
Pronunciation: ' ī
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle English, from Old English ē age; akin to Old High German ouga eye, Latin oculus, Greek ō ps eye, face, Sanskrit ak ș i eye
Date: before 12th century
1 a : a specialized light-sensitive sensory structure of animals that in nearly all vertebrates, most arthropods, and some mollusks is the image-forming organ of sight especially : the nearly spherical usually paired hollow organ of sight in vertebrates that is filled with a jellylike material, is lined with a photosensitive retina, and is lodged in a bony orbit in the skull b : all the visible structures within and surrounding the orbit and including eyelids, eyelashes, and eyebrows c (1) : the faculty of seeing with eyes (2) : the faculty of intellectual or aesthetic perception or appreciation <an eye for beauty> (3) : skill or ability dependent upon eyesight <a batter with a good eye > d : LOOK , GLANCE <cast an eager eye > e (1) : an attentive look <kept an eye on his valuables> (2) : ATTENTION , NOTICE <caught his eye > (3) : close observation : SCRUTINY <works under the eye of her boss> <in the public eye > f : POINT OF VIEW , JUDGMENT <beauty is in the eye of the beholder> ― often used in plural <an offender in the eye s of the law>
2 : something having an appearance suggestive of an eye: as a : the hole through the head of a needle b : a usually circular marking (as on a peacock's tail) c : LOOP especially : a loop or catch to receive a hook d : an undeveloped bud (as on a potato) e : an area like a hole in the center of a tropical cyclone marked by only light winds or complete calm with no precipitation f : the center of a flower especially when differently colored or marked specifically : the disk of a composite g (1) : a triangular piece of beef cut from between the top and bottom of a round (2) : the chief muscle of a chop (3) : a compact mass of muscular tissue usually embedded in fat in a rib or loin cut of meat h : a device (as a photoelectric cell) that functions in a manner analogous to human vision
3 : something central : CENTER <the eye of the problem ― Norman Mailer>
4 : the direction from which the wind is blowing
– eye · less \ ' ī -l ə s \ adjective
– eye · like \ - ˌ l ī k \ adjective
– an eye for an eye : retribution in kind
– my eye
― used to express mild disagreement or sometimes surprise <a diamond, my eye! That's glass>
– with an eye to also with an eye toward
1 : with awareness or contemplation of < with an eye to the future>
2 : with the object of <built the house with an eye to adding on later>
eye 1a: 1 optic nerve, 2 blind spot, 3 fovea, 4 sclera, 5 choroid, 6 retina, 7 ciliary body, 8 posterior chamber, 9 anterior chamber, 10 cornea, 11 lens, 12 iris, 13 suspensory ligament, 14 conjunctiva, 15 vitreous humor