ocellus

American  

[oh-sel-uhs] / oʊˈsɛl əs /

noun

ocelli plural

1. a type of simple eye common to invertebrates, consisting of retinal cells, pigments, and nerve fibers.

2. an eyelike spot, as on a peacock feather.

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ocellus British  

/ ˈɒsɪˌleɪt, ˈɒsɪˌleɪtɪd, ɒˈsɛləs /

noun

1. the simple eye of insects and some other invertebrates, consisting basically of light-sensitive cells

2. any eyelike marking in animals, such as the eyespot on the tail feather of a peacock

3. botany

   1. an enlarged discoloured cell in a leaf

   2. a swelling on the sporangium of certain fungi

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ocellus Scientific  

/ ō-sĕl′əs /

ocelli plural

1. A small, simple eye or eyespot, found in many invertebrates.

2. A marking that resembles an eye, as on the wings of some butterflies.

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Other Word Forms

• ocellar
  adjective
• ocellate
  adjective
• ocellation
  noun

Etymology

Origin of ocellus

1810–20; < Latin: little eye, diminutive of oculus eye; see -elle

Example Sentences

Aquila In nubibus Imperator literatorum, columen literarum, abyssus eruditionis, ocellus Europae, Scaliger.

From The Anatomy of Melancholy by Burton, Robert

The barbs coalesce towards the extremity of the shaft forming the oval disc or ocellus, which is certainly one of the most beautiful objects in the world.

From The Descent of Man by Darwin, Charles

I will next describe the other extreme of the series, namely, the first trace of an ocellus.

From The Descent of Man by Darwin, Charles

This border in P. chinquis shades into brown, edged with cream colour, so that the ocellus is here surrounded with variously shaded, though not bright, concentric zones.

From The Descent of Man by Darwin, Charles

A, B, C, &c., dark stripes running obliquely down, each to an ocellus.

From The Descent of Man and Selection in Relation to Sex Volume II (1st Edition) by Darwin, Charles