Word
cataracts
US/ˈkætɝˌækts/
UK/kˈætɐɹˌækts/
Definitions
01eye condition
n. a medical condition where the lens of your eye becomes cloudy, making it hard to see clearly.
n. a condition in which the lens of the eye becomes progressively opaque, resulting in blurred vision. Often plural when referring to the condition in both eyes.
“My grandfather had surgery to remove his cataracts and now he can see much better.”
“Advances in outpatient surgery have made the removal of cataracts a routine procedure with a high success rate for restoring visual acuity.”
Usage
Usually used in the plural when discussing the medical condition.
Synonyms
02waterfall
n. a very large, powerful waterfall or a sudden rush of water.
n. a large waterfall or a sudden, violent downpour of water.
“The river turned into a series of dangerous cataracts as it moved down the mountain.”
“The explorers struggled to navigate their rafts through the thunderous cataracts that blocked the narrow canyon passage.”
Literary
03floodgates of heaven
n. an old-fashioned way to describe heavy rain falling from the sky.
n. the floodgates of heaven; used to describe the source of a massive deluge or downpour.
“The rain fell so hard it felt as if the cataracts of heaven had opened.”
“In the ancient text, the author describes the great flood as the opening of the cataracts of heaven upon the parched earth.”
Archaic · Literary
Synonyms
Real-World Examples
“It has also been linked to eye problems , external , including cataracts.” Etymology
PIE word *ḱóm From Late Middle English cataractes, cataractis, cateractes, used to translate καταρράκται (katarrháktai, “(probably) floodgates, sluices”) in the Septuagint and cataractae (“floodgates, sluices”) in the Vulgate versions of the Bible. The Middle English words are plural forms of cataract, cataracta, cateract, cateracte (“floodgate of heaven”), from Old French cataracte (modern French cataracte), and from its etymon Latin cataracta (“floodgate; waterfall”), from Ancient Greek καταρ(ρ)άκτης (katar(rh)áktēs, “(noun) waterfall; (adjective) rushing downwards”), from καταρ(ρ)ᾱ́σσω (katar(rh)ā́ssō, “to pour down; to rush downwards”) + -της (-tēs, suffix forming nouns denoting a state of being). Καταρ(ρ)ᾱ́σσω (Katar(rh)ā́ssō) is derived either: from κᾰτᾰ- (kătă-, prefix meaning ‘downwards’) + ἀρᾰ́σσω (arắssō, “to dash to pieces; to strike”) (further etymology unknown, possibly onomatopoeic) or ῥᾱ́σσω (rhā́ssō, “to dash; to strike”) (possibly ultimately from Proto-Indo-European wreh₂ǵʰ- (“to pound, strike”)); or * from καταρρηγνύναι (katarrhēgnúnai, “to break down”). By surface analysis, cataract + -s (suffix forming pluralia tantum).
From cataract + -s (suffix forming regular plural forms of nouns, and third-person singular simple present indicative forms of verbs).
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Scan code
englishreference.com/q/cataracts