I. ˈkad.əˌrakt, -atə- noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English cataracte floodgate, from Latin cataracta, catarractes waterfall, portcullis, floodgate, from Greek kataraktēs, katarrhaktēs, literally, sheer, abrupt, from katarassein to dash down, from kata- cata- + arassein to strike, smash
1. obsolete : floodgate — used in plural
the rain descended for forty days, the cataracts … of heaven being opened — John Milton
2.
[Middle French or Medieval Latin; Middle French cataracte, from Medieval Latin cataracta; perhaps from its likeness to a portcullis in constituting an obstruction]
: a clouding of the lens of the eye or of its capsule varying in degree from slight to complete opacity and obstructing the passage of light
3.
[Latin cataracta, catarractes waterfall]
a. obsolete : waterspout
b. : waterfall ; especially : a great fall of water over a precipice — compare cascade 1
c. : steep rapids in a large river
the cataracts of the Nile
d. : an overwhelming downpour or rush : flood
cataracts of rain poured down — C.S.Forester
his cataract of eloquence — Herman Wouk
• cat·a·ract·al | ̷ ̷ ̷ ̷| ̷ ̷t ə l adjective
II. verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
transitive verb
: to cause to fall like a cataract
the … rotor cataracts water over the top of the case — Flow Quarterly
intransitive verb
: to fall like a cataract
rain cataracting down the windowpanes