cataract

Meaning

Noun

• A waterspout
• A large waterfall; steep rapids in a river.
• A flood of water.
• An overwhelming downpour or rush.
• A clouding of the lens in the eye leading to a decrease in vision.

Origin

• From Middle English cataract, cateract, cataracta, from Latin cataracta ("waterfall, portcullis"), from Ancient Greek καταρράκτης, from καταράσσω, from κατα- + ἀράσσω. Its pathological sense probably came from its alternative sense in Latin, “portcullis”, through French through the notion of “obstruction”, in this case, of vision.