eye English · revision 2636

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=c. 700|origins=ine-pro *okʷ-}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /aɪ/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|eie]], earlier ehe,^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024) [[inh|ang|ēage]] (West Saxon), ēge (Mercian),^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) from [[gem-pro|*augô|alt=*augon]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) the source also of Old Saxon ōga, Dutch oog, Old High German ouga (German Auge), Old Norse auga and Gothic augō.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986) The diphthong au is not fully explained, but is partly due to the influence of the Germanic word for [[ear]].^(Barnhart 1988) Its cognates outside Germanic include Latin oculus, Greek ṓps “eye, face”, Lithuanian akìs, Old Church Slavonic oko, Armenian akn and Sanskrit ákṣi, from [[ine-pro|*okʷ-|t=to see]].^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986)^(AHD 2000) Etymonline holds that the Germanic form developed irregularly from this root.^(Etymonline) The verb is from the noun.^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Old English ēge is found about 700 in compounds;^(Barnhart 1988) the OED's first quotation is from before 700.^(OED 1989) In Old English the word also meant the region around the eye and a hole or opening.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Until the late 14th century the plural ended in -an, hence the dialect plural een.^(Etymonline)^(Wright 1898) The eye of a needle is already Old English; the ''eyes'' of a peacock's tail are from the late 14th century, a loop for a hook from the 1590s, and the buds of a potato from the 1670s.^(Etymonline) ''To keep an eye on'' is from the early 15th century,^(Etymonline) ''the mind's eye'' is used in ''Hamlet'',^(Etymonline) and ''to see eye to eye'' comes from Isaiah 52:8.^(Etymonline) ''The eyes are the window of the soul'' goes back at least to 1545.^(Cresswell 2021) The verb meant “to cause to see” before 1425, and “to look at, observe” from 1566.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989) ''Make eyes at'' is from 1837, and ''eye contact'' from 1953.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 700 – Old English ēge in compounds.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * c. 1200 – Middle English eie.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * before 1425 – verb, to cause to see.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1545 – the eyes as windows of the mind.^(Cresswell 2021)

+ * 1566 – verb, to look at.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1590s – a loop for a hook.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1670s – the bud of a potato.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1837 – ''make eyes at''.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1953 – ''eye contact''.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # The organ of [[sight]].^(AHD)^(SOED 2002)

+ # The ability to see; the ability to judge or notice: ''an eye for detail''.^(AHD)

+ # A look or gaze; close watch: ''keep an eye on''.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+ # Something like an eye, such as the hole in a [[needle]], a loop for a [[hook]], or a [[bud]] on a [[potato]].^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+ # The calm centre of a [[hurricane]].^(AHD)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To look at, especially closely or with interest.^(AHD)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[eyeless]]

+ * [[eyelike]]

+ * [[eyer]]

+ * [[eyeable]]

+ * [[uneyeable]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[ocular]]

+ * [[optic]]

+ * [[ophthalmic]]

+ * [[window]]

+ * [[daisy]]

+ * [[eyeball]]

+ * [[eyebrow]]

+ * [[eyelash]]

+ * [[eyelid]]

+ * [[eyesight]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ In Cheshire, Lincolnshire and Somerset an ''eye'' was also a brood of pheasants, an unrelated word.^(Wright 1898)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}