eyespot

[ ahy-spot ]

noun

a sensory organ of lower animals, having a light-perceiving function.
an eyelike spot, as on the tail of a peacock; eye.

Plant Pathology. a disease of plants, characterized by elliptical lesions on the leaves and stems, stunting of growth, and rotting, caused by any of several fungi.

Origin of eyespot

First recorded in 1580–90; eye + spot

Words Nearby eyespot

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use eyespot in a sentence

Birds are known to attack eyespots or head-shaped patterns on butterfly wings.
Butterfly ‘tails’ might be part of an escape tactic | Jake Buehler | July 13, 2022 | Science News For Students
The wing-patterns are handsome and striking; usually an unsealed “eyespot” is conspicuous at the end of each discoidal areolet.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 16, Slice 4 | Various

British Dictionary definitions for eyespot

eyespot

/ (ˈaɪˌspɒt) /

noun

a small area of light-sensitive pigment in some protozoans, algae, and other simple organisms
an eyelike marking, as on the wings of certain butterflies

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

Scientific definitions for eyespot

eyespot

[ ī′spŏt′ ]

An area that is sensitive to light and functions somewhat like an eye, found in certain single-celled organisms as well as many invertebrate animals.
A round marking resembling an eye, as on the tail feather of a peacock.

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