eye

I. 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 • eyeless adjective • eyelike adjective II. verb (eyed; eyeing or eying) Date: 15th century transitive verb 1. a. (1) to fix the eyes on ; look at <

they eyed him suspiciously

> (2) contemplate, consider <

eyeing the choices

> b. to watch or study closely <

eyeing changes in the stock market

> 2. to furnish with an eye intransitive verb obsolete seem, look • eyer noun