eye

Reading level: easy

Estimated CEFR level: A1 — Beginner

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

  1. noun the organ of sight
  2. noun good discernment (either visually or as if visually)
  3. noun attention to what is seen

Etymology

From Middle English eye, yë, eyghe, from Old English ēage (“eye”), from Proto-West Germanic *augā, from Proto-Germanic *augô (“eye”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₃okʷ-, *h₃ekʷ- (“eye; to see”). Related to ogle. Cognates Cognate with Scots ee, eh (“eye”), North Frisian Oog, uug (“eye”), Saterland Frisian Oge, Ooge (“eye”), West Frisian each (“eye”), Alemannic German, Bavarian Aug (“eye”), Central Franconian Au, Auch, Ooch (“eye”), Dutch oog (“eye”), German Aug, Auge (“eye”), Low German Auge, Oog (“eye”), Luxembourgish A (“eye”), Vilamovian aojg, aug, oüg (“eye”), Yiddish אויג (oyg, “eye”), Danish øje (“eye”), Elfdalian oga (“eye”), Faroese eyga (“eye”), Icelandic auga (“eye”), Norwegian Bokmål øye (“eye”), Norwegian Nynorsk aua, aue, auga, auge (“eye”), Scanian yva (“eye”), Swedish öga (“eye”), Crimean Gothic oeghene (“eyes”), Gothic 𐌰𐌿𐌲𐍉 (augō, “eye”). Other Indo-European cognates include Latin oculus (whence English oculus), Lithuanian aki̇̀s, Old Church Slavonic око (oko), Albanian sy, Ancient Greek ὄψ (óps, “(poetic) eye; face”) and ὄσσε (ósse, “eyes”), Armenian ակն (akn), Avestan 𐬀𐬱𐬌 (aši, “eyes”), Sanskrit अक्षि (ákṣi). The archaic plural form eyen is from Middle English eyen, from Old English ēaġan, nominative and accusative plural of ēaġe (“eye”).

In classic literature

Synonyms

oculus, optic

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