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Added 5 October 2026

cataract

/ˈkætəɹækt/ noun

In Latin: cataracta Wiktionary

noun Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about cataract at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

A (large) waterfall, specifically one flowing over the edge of a cliff.
The cataracts on the Nile helped to compartment Upper Egypt.
A flood of water; specifically, steep rapids in a river.
An overwhelming downpour or rush; a flood.
His cataract of eloquence

verb

Of a river, etc.: to fall in the form of a waterfall.
To cause (something) to pour or rush like a waterfall.

noun

Synonym of portcullis (“a gate in the form of a grating which is lowered into place at the gateway of a castle, a fort, etc.”); also, a window grating.
A clouding of the lens in the eye leading to a decrease in vision. Something which obscures. A tool used for breaking flax; a brake.
A clouding of the lens in the eye leading to a decrease in vision. Something which obscures.

Origin

PIE word *ḱóm The noun is derived from cataracts (noun (plural only)), from Late Middle English cataract, cataracta, cateract, cateracte (“floodgate of heaven”), from Old French cataracte (modern French cataracte), and from its etymon Latin cataracta (“floodgate; waterfall”), from Ancient Greek καταρ(ρ)άκτης (katar(rh)áktēs, “(noun) waterfall; (adjective) rushing downwards”), from καταρ(ρ)ᾱ́σσω (katar(rh)ā́ssō, “to pour down; to rush downwards”) + -της (-tēs, suffix forming nouns denoting a state of being).

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

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