cataract
noun
Did you know?
The ocular meaning of cataract that English users are most familiar with is also the oldest. It dates to the 14th century and comes from the Latin word cataracta, meaning “portcullis,” probably because a cataract in one’s eye obstructs vision much like a portcullis’s heavy iron grating obstructs passage into a fortress or castle. Cataracta has another meaning, however—“waterfall”—and that meaning gave English the water-related meanings that came in later centuries. The connection between the two Latin meanings can be seen in katarassein, the Greek source of cataracta. It means “to dash down,” describing the action of both the slamming portcullis and the cascading waterfall.
Examples of cataract in a Sentence
Lydia Patrick, MSNBC Newsweek, 8 July 2025
Olof has become one of the world’s foremost proponents of cataract surgery.
—Inga, San Diego Union-Tribune, 7 July 2025
And that this treatise describes an early form of cataract surgery that involves dislodging the lens of the eye with an oversized needle, all without anesthesia?
—Randy McMullen, Mercury News, 26 June 2025
Yet a worldwide shortage of eye doctors—with only 32 ophthalmologists and 14 cataract surgeons per million people—means a vast number of them will never get treatment.
—Amy Feldman, Forbes.com, 24 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for cataract
Cite this Entry
“Cataract.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cataract. Accessed 30 Jul. 2025.
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cataract
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cataract
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