compound eye
- an arthropod eye subdivided into many individual, light-receptive elements, each including a lens, a transmitting apparatus, and retinal cells.
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Origin of compound eye
First recorded in 1830–40
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
compound eye
- the convex eye of insects and some crustaceans, consisting of numerous separate light-sensitive units (ommatidia)See also ocellus
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Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
compound eye
- An eye consisting of hundreds or thousands of tiny light-sensitive parts (called ommatidia), with each part serving to focus light on the retina to create a portion of an image. Most insects and some crustaceans have compound eyes.
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The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
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