eyeball

Etymology

It is formed from English eye + ball, named for the shape of the eye.^{[2][3][4][5][6]} It follows the earlier phrase ball of the eye, which Etymonline dates from about 1400.^[2][3] Johnson (1755) likewise explained it as formed from eye and ball.^[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

The pupil, or the pupil and iris together: 1575, in W. Patten.^[2] Merriam-Webster also dates the first use to 1575,^[6] Etymonline to the 1580s.^[3]

Semantic evolution

From 1594, in Shakespeare's Lucrece, the word could mean the whole globe of the eye,^[2] and this is now its main sense, while the older sense "pupil" is rare or obsolete.^[4] Johnson (1755) still defined it as the apple of the eye, the pupil.^[7] The verb began in Australia: Green's Dictionary of Slang finds eye-balling in 1846 for staring,^[8] and the OED records a reflexive verb, to work oneself extremely hard, from 1848 to 1851.^[2] The American slang verb "to stare at" is recorded from 1901.^[2][6][3] Since 1958 the verb has also meant to measure or estimate by sight alone.^[2] Merriam-Webster dates the adjective, based on observation rather than measurement, to 1914.^[6] The phrase eyeball to eyeball, face to face and later in close confrontation, is recorded from 1908.^[2][4] In marketing, eyeballs has meant the audience of a medium, regarded as a source of revenue, since 1970.^[2][6] In Caribbean English an eyeball is also the most loved child of a family.^[8]

Timeline

• c. 1400 – ball of the eye, the spherical part of the eye.^[3]
• 1575 – the pupil of the eye.^[2][6]
• 1594 – the whole eye, in Shakespeare's Lucrece.^[2]
• 1846 – eye-balling, staring, in Australia.^[8]
• 1901 – verb, to look or stare at.^[2][6][3]
• 1908 – eyeball to eyeball, face to face.^[2]
• 1914 – adjective, based on observation rather than measurement.^[6]
• 1958 – verb, to estimate by sight.^[2]
• 1970 – eyeballs, the viewers of a medium.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. The roughly spherical part of the eye inside the eyelids and socket, formed by the sclera and cornea; the eye itself.^[6][9][4]
2. eyeballs (informal): the people who watch something, such as a website or a television programme, counted as an audience.^[6][2]
3. A ceiling light set in a swivel so that its beam can be turned in any direction.^[9]
4. eyeball to eyeball: face to face, especially in a tense confrontation.^[4][2]
5. (now rare) The pupil of the eye.^[4][7]

Verb

1. To look at someone intently or with hostility; to stare at: The two drivers eyeballed each other across the car park.^[6][2]
2. To estimate or measure by sight alone: She eyeballed the length of the plank.^[9][2]

Adjective

1. Based on looking rather than on exact measurement: an eyeball guess.^[6]

Word family

• eyeballer

Related words

• eye
• ball

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d e f Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b c d e f Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
5. ^ Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
7. ^ a b c Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
8. ^ a b c Green, Jonathon (2010), Green's Dictionary of Slang, London: Chambers; digital ed. 2016–, https://greensdictofslang.com
9. ^ a b c The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt