oculist
Americannoun
Synonym Usage
See eye doctor.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of oculist
First recorded in 1590–1600; French oculiste; see ocul-, -ist
Explanation
People who lived in previous centuries who had trouble seeing street signs, reading small print, or suddenly had horrible eye pain, would have visited an oculist. This was a doctor who dealt with eye disorders. The root word, oculus, is Latin for “eye.” Oculist is actually a rather out-dated and old-fashioned term. Now, the more popular names for these kinds of doctors are ophthalmologist and optometrist. Ophthalmologists deal with more serious problems and diseases. Optometrists address less serious issues, perform vision tests, and prescribe corrective lenses.
Vocabulary lists containing oculist
The Great Gatsby
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The Miracle Worker
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Some Latin-based Words
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Forced to resign because of poor health, he researched in eye diseases, gained fame as an oculist.
From Time Magazine Archive
Died, Austin O'Malley, M. D., 73, scientist, oculist, author, brother of Writer Frank Ward O'Malley; of arteriosclerosis after a lingering illness; in Philadelphia.
From Time Magazine Archive
A mild-mannered oculist, Dr. Galeazzi-Lisi first met the Pope when he was still Eugenio Pacelli, the Vatican's 54-year-old Secretary of State, suffering from eye-strain headaches, which Galeazzi-Lisi relieved.
From Time Magazine Archive
London throngs cheered returning Scot MacDonald who went first to his oculist, second to Buckingham Palace for an audience of 70 minutes.
From Time Magazine Archive
Evidently some wild wag of an oculist set them there to fatten his practice in the borough of Queens, and then sank down himself into eternal blindness or forgot them and moved away.
From " The Great Gatsby" by F. Scott Fitzgerald
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
