eye

—eyeable, adj. —eyelike, adj. —eyer, n.

/uy/, n., pl. eyes, (Archaic) eyen or eyne; v., eyed, eying or eyeing.

n.

1. the organ of sight, in vertebrates typically one of a pair of spherical bodies contained in an orbit of the skull and in humans appearing externally as a dense, white, curved membrane, or sclera, surrounding a circular, colored portion, or iris, that is covered by a clear, curved membrane, or cornea, and in the center of which is an opening, or pupil, through which light passes to the retina.

2. the aggregate of structures situated within or near the orbit that assist, support, or protect the eye.

3. this organ with respect to the color of the iris: blue eyes.

4. the region surrounding the eye: a black eye; puffy eyes.

5. sight; vision: a sharp eye.

6. the power of seeing; appreciative or discriminating visual perception: the eye of an artist.

7. a look, glance, or gaze: to cast one's eye at a beautiful necklace.

8. an attentive look, close observation, or watch: to be under the eye of a guard.

9. regard, view, aim, or intention: to have an eye to one's own advantage.

10. a manner or way of looking at a thing; estimation; opinion: in the eyes of the law.

11. a center of light, intelligence, influence, etc.

12. something resembling or suggesting the eye in appearance, shape, etc., as the opening in the lens of a camera, a peephole, or a buttonhole.

13. Bot.

a. the bud of a potato, Jerusalem artichoke, etc.

b. a small, contrastingly colored part at the center of a flower.

14. the central spot of a target; bull's-eye.

15. a choice center cut of meat: an eye of round; the eye of the rib.

16. one of the round spots on the tail feathers of a peacock.

17. the hole in a needle.

18. a hole made in a thing for the insertion of some object, as the handle of a tool: the eye of an ax.

19. a metal or other ring through which something, as a rope or rod, is passed.

20. the loop into which a hook is inserted.

21. Electronics. a photoelectric cell or similar device used to perform a function analogous to visual inspection.

22. Building Trades. a ring on the end of a tension member, as an eye bar or eye bolt, for connection with another member.

23. a hole formed during the maturation of cheese, esp. Emmenthaler or Gruyère.

24. a loop worked at the end of a rope.

25. Meteorol. the approximately circular region of relatively light winds and fair weather found at the center of a severe tropical cyclone.

26. eyes, Naut. the extreme forward part of the upper deck at the bow of a vessel.

27. Naut. the precise direction from which a wind is blowing.

28. an eye for an eye, repayment in kind, as revenge for an injustice.

29. be all eyes, to give all one's attention to something; look intently.

30. catch someone's eye, to draw or attract someone's attention: to catch the waiter's eye.

31. give (someone) the eye, Informal. to look fixedly at (another person), esp. with obvious admiration; ogle: She ignored the men who were giving her the eye.

32. have an eye for, to have the ability to appreciate distinctions in; be discerning or perceptive about: She has an eye for antique furniture.

33. have eyes only for,

a. to want no other person or thing but: She was always surrounded by admirers, but she had eyes only for Harry.

b. to see, or view, or desire to see only. Also, only have eyes for.

34. in a pig's eye, Slang. absolutely notnb;dw d never: In a pig's eye I will!

35. keep an eye on, to watch over attentively: Please keep an eye on my plants while I'm away.

36. keep an eye out for, to be vigilant in looking or watching for: The announcer told his listeners to keep an eye out for the escaped criminal.

37. keep one's eye on the ball, to remain attentive; be especially alert.

38. keep one's eyes open, to be especially alert or observant.

39. lay, clap, or set eyes on, Informal. to catch sight of; see: They had never laid eyes on such a big car before.

40. make eyes at, to gaze flirtatiously or amorously at.

41. my eye! Informal. (a mild exclamation of contradiction or surprise): He says he wasn't told about this? My eye!

42. open one's eyes, to bring someone to a realization of the truth or of something previously unknown: A trip through Asia opened his eyes to the conditions under which millions had to live.

43. pick the eyes out, Australia and New Zealand. to select the best parts or items.

44. run one's eye over, to glance briefly at; examine hastily.

45. see eye to eye, to have exactly the same opinion; agree: They have never been able to see eye to eye on politics.

46. see with half an eye, to see or realize immediately or with ease: Anyone can see with half an eye that the plan is doomed to fail.

47. shut one's eyes to, to refuse to see or consider; disregard: We can no longer shut our eyes to the gravity of the situation.

48. sight for sore eyes, a welcome sight; a pleasant surprise: After our many days in the desert, the wretched village was a sight for sore eyes.

49. with an eye to, with a plan or purpose of: with an eye to one's future.

50. with one's eyes open, aware of the inherent or potential risks: She signed the papers with her eyes open.

v.t.

51. to fix the eyes upon; view: to eye the wonders of nature.

52. to observe or watch narrowly: She eyed the two strangers with suspicion.

53. to make an eye in: to eye a needle.

v.i.

54. Obs. to appear to the eye.

[bef. 900; ME eie, ie, OE ege, var. of EAGE; c. G Auge; akin to L oculus, Gk óps, Skt aksi]

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I

Organ that receives light and visual images.

Non-image forming, or direction, eyes are found among worms, mollusks, cnidarians, echinoderms, and other invertebrates; image-forming eyes are found in certain mollusks, most arthropods, and nearly all vertebrates. Arthropods are unique in possessing a compound eye, which results in their seeing a multiple image that is partially integrated in the brain. Lower vertebrates such as fish have eyes on either side of the head, allowing a maximum view of the surroundings but producing two separate fields of vision. In predatory birds and mammals, binocular vision became more important. Evolutionary changes in the placement of the eyes permitted a larger overlap of the two visual fields, resulting in the higher mammals in a parallel line of direct sight. The human eye is roughly spherical. Light passes through its transparent front and stimulates receptor cells on the retina (cones for colour vision, rods for black-and-white vision in faint light), which in turn send impulses through the optic nerve to the brain. Vision disorders include near-and farsightedness and astigmatism (correctable with eyeglasses or contact lenses), colour blindness, and night blindness. Other eye disorders (including detached retina and glaucoma) can cause visual-field defects or blindness. See also ophthalmology; photoreception.

II

(as used in expressions)

electric eye

tiger's eye

apotropaic eye

cat's eye

evil eye

Seeing Eye dog

deceive the eye

black eyed pea

One Eyed

black eyed Susan

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