Main Entry: ¹eye

Pronunciation: \ˈī\

Function: noun

Etymology: Middle English, from Old English ēage; akin to Old High German ouga eye, Latin oculus, Greek ōps eye, face, Sanskrit akṣi 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 eyes 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 \ˈī-ləs\ adjective

— eye·like \-ˌlīk\ 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 illustration]