“eye” in Latin

aspicere aliquem or aliquid: oculos in aliquid conjicere or convertere: spectare: aspectare: contemplari, intueri, contueri aliquem or aliquid. To eye attentively, earnestly, etc., oculos non movere or dejicere a re (e.g., ab alicujus vultu); oculi habitant in re; obtutum figere in re; defixis oculis intueri aliquid; defigere oculos in re or in aliquid: to eye askance, oculis limis intueri or aspicere aliquid: in an impudent manner, impudentissimos oculos defigere inaliquem or aliquid (Cic., Phil., 11, 5, 10).

oculus (diminutive, ocellus; also, with and without mentis, like acies mentis, of the eye of the mind): lumen (in prose usually lumina oculorum, the light of the eyes): aspectus: conspectus (sight): full of eyes, oculeus: having eyes, oculatus: that belongs to eyes, ocularius (also, that is concerned with eyes): eyes that have not begun to fail, acies incolumis: sharp eyes, oculi acres et acuti: to have sharp eyes, acriter videre; oculos acres et acutos habere (PROP.); perspicacem esse (figuratively): that has sharp (i. e., lynx) eyes, lynceus: to have good eyes, bene videre; bad eyes (that do not Vid: clearly), oculi hebetes: that has weak eyes, lusciosus or luscitiosus (= qui vesperi non videt, Varr., ap. Non., 105, 13; but, according to Festus and Fulgentius = “qui clarius vesperi quam meridie cernit”): to have weak eyes, oculi alicui caecutiunt (Varr., ap. Non., 86, 12): a deep-set, hollow eye, oculus conditus, retractus, concavus: a bright eye, oculus lubricus et mobilis; oculus vegetus: a dull eye, oculus languidus: languishing eyes, oculi ignem fatentes: voluptuous, wanton eyes, oculi lascivi; oculi, ut sic dicamus, venerei: speaking, expressive eyes, oculi loquaces: to have weak or blear eyes, lippire: one who has weak or blear eyes, lippus; lippiens. (A) Phrases with “eye” in the nominative: the eyes swim or water, oculi humectant (general term, become moist or wet); lacrimae alicui oboriuntur (the eyes are filled with tears; from pain, joy, etc.; the cause, in the ablative; as, gaudio, adventu alicujus); facit aliquid ut oculi exstillent; facit aliquid delacrimationem (of sharp and pungent food, of smoke which causes the eyes to water): my eyes pain me, oculi mihi dolent: if my eyes do not deceive me, nisi (animus fallit aut) oculi parum prospiciunt: as far as the eye reaches, qua visus est; quo longissime oculi conspectum ferunt (as far as ever, etc.). (B) Phrases with “eye” in the accusative case. To please the eye, arridet alicui aliquid: to open the eyes, oculos aperire (to open); oculos attollere (to raise); dispicere (to open them for seeing); oculos alicui restituere (to restore the sight of a blind man; Suet.): to open anybody’s eye wide, oculum diducere (of a surgeon, etc.): to open one’s eyes wide, diducere oculos (as in Quint., 11, 3, 80, nares diducere; ☞ Cels., 7, 7, § 4): to open one’s eyes wide at anything, acrem aciem intendere in aliquid; acriter intueri aliquid: to cast one’s eyes all around, circumferre oculos: diligenter circumspicere (PROP.); ad omnia attendere (figuratively): to cry one’s eyes out, totos efflere oculos; lacrimis confici (☞ totos efflere oculos, Quint., Decl., 4. Freund omits the word): to blind anybody’s eyes by a gift or bribe, largitione alicujus animum caecare: to attract the eyes of people, conspici, conspicuum esse (of persons and things which strike the sight; Vid: Bremi, Nep., Att., 13, 5; Suet., Oct., 45): to withdraw one’s eyes from anybody or anything, oculos dejicere ab aliquo, a re: to draw upon one’s self the eyes of all men, omnium oculos ad se convertere or in se vertere: to direct men’s eyes toward anybody, conspicuum facere aliquem: all eyes are turned, directed toward him, omnium oculi in eum sunt conjecti; omnium ora in eum sunt conjecta: to close or shut the eyes, oculos operire (Quint., opertos compressosve oculos habere in dicendo); connivere (e.g., in order to sleep; also, at anything, ad aliquid [PROP., e.g., at lightning, ad fulgura], or in aliqua re, figuratively, to connive at anything): to close the eyes of a dying person, morienti operire oculos: to close one’s eyes forever, conniventem somno consopiri sempiterno. To feast one’s eyes with anything, oculos pascere aliqua re; fructum oculis capere ex re. (C) “Eye” with prepositions, (a) BEFORE: before the eyes, ante oculos (e.g., to wave or float, versari; to kill anybody, trucidare): in conspectu (e.g., to lie; of a country, esse: to stand, of a person, astare): sometimes in ore atque in oculis, or in ore only (e.g., quae in ore atque in oculis provinciae gesta sunt, Cic., Verr., 2, 33, 81; in ore omnium versari): before one’s (own) eyes, sub oculis: before my eyes, me spectante, inspectante, praesente; coram me: to be done before the eyes of all the world, in oculis hominum geri: to have before one’s eyes, habere ante oculos (PROP. and figuratively; e.g., to fancy, represent to one’s self, imagine); intueri (to keep in one’s eye); observare (to observe); spectare (to take notice of, to regard); videre aliquid (to think upon anything, Vid: Ochsn., Cic., Ecl., 126): to come before the eyes = to come under the eyes; Vid: below in UNDER: to put or place before the eyes of anybody, ante oculos or oculis alicujus aliquid proponere, exponere; oculis or sub aspectum subjicere: to place or set before one’s (own) eyes, ponere, proponere, constituere sibi aliquid ante oculos; proponere aliquid oculis suis: to set anything clearly before anybody’s eyes, dilucide docere, explicare (to explain clearly): praedicare aliquid (to represent emphatically; Vid: Held. Caes., B. C. 1, 32): to figure or picture before one’s eyes, repraesentare imaginem alicujus rei (e.g., sceleris, Quint., 6, 1, 31): to lie before the eyes, in conspectu esse (PROP. and figuratively, to be visible; of a country, etc.): figuratively, ante or sub oculos positum esse; patere; ante pedes esse (proverbially); also, manifestum, apertum esse (to be manifest or clear): to lie, so to say, before our eyes, esse, ut ita dicam, in conspectu: to have before one’s eyes, aliquid alicui in conspectu est (PROP., to be visible; of a country, etc.); aliquid intueri (to look at anything, in order to direct one’s course by it): to do anything before anybody’s eyes, sub oculis alicujus facere aliquid: lest Capua should be taken before his eyes, ne in oculis ejus Capua caperetur (Liv.). (b) FOR. To be good for the eyes, oculis mederi [Vid: under GOOD]. (c) FROM. To learn, know, perceive anything from the eyes of anybody, e vultu alicujus intelligere aliquid (what he designs or purposes): ex vultu alicujus conjecturam facere, quid velit, cupiat, sentiat (any one’s wishes, etc.; after Cic., Muren., 21, 44). (d) IN. To keep in one’s eye (i. e., to look at with attention), contemplari aliquem intentis oculis: to keep anything in one’s eye, intueri, observare aliquid: Homer appears to me to have had something of this kind in his eye, mihi quidem Homerus hujusmodi quiddam vidisse videtur. (e) ON or UPON. To keep a strict eye upon anybody, aliquem observare, custodire; alicujus oculi aliquem non sentientem speculantur et custodiunt (to watch anybody secretly, Cic., Cat., 1, 2, 6): to fix one’s eyes on the ground, oculos in terram defigere or dejicere (both Quint.): to keep one’s eye upon anything, habere aliquid in oculis suis: to cast one’s eyes upon anything, oculos conjicere ad or in aliquid (PROP.); oculos adjicere alicui rei (also figuratively): to cast one’s eyes upon anybody, animum adjicere ad aliquem: to fix one’s eyes upon anybody (not to turn them away from him), obtutum figere in aliquo; oculos defigere in vultu alicujus or in aliquem; oculi habitant in vultu alicujus; contemplari aliquem intentis oculis. (f) UNDER. To fall under the eyes, sub oculos cadere; in oculos cadere, incurrere; sub aspectum cadere or venire; aspectu sentiri; in aciem prodire (to become visible; the last, Cic., Fam., 6, 1, 5); conspicuum esse; conspici (to attract the eyes of people, to be conspicuous; Vid: Bremi, Nep., Att., 13, 5: Suet., Oct., 45); aliquid nemo non videt, intelligit, perspicit (a thing is clear or apparent to everybody): to come or fall under the eyes of anybody, in conspectum alicujus venire (of persons), or cadere (of things, and rather adventitiously): to live constantly under the eyes of people, in oculis habitare; assiduum in oculis hominum esse. (g) WITH. To do anything with one’s eyes open, scientem facere aliquid: to see, observe with the eyes, oculis cernere; aspectu sentire: to see with one’s own eyes, suis oculis uti: to see anything with one’s own eyes, oculis cernere; ipsum, praesentem videre aliquid: I have seen it with mine own eyes, hisce oculis vidi, perspexi, or ipse vidi [☞ Some reject oculis meis videre; but Ter., Eun., 4, 4, 10, and Plaut., Pseud., 2, 27, have it]: to see well with the right (or left) eye, dextro or sinistro oculo bene videre (Cic., Divin., 1, 24): not to see well with the left (right) eye, sinistro (dextro) oculo non aeque bene uti posse; minus videre oculo sinistro (dextro): to wink with the eyes, nictare.

☞ The following Anglicisms must not be translated litterally: to be fair, etc., in anybody’s eyes, pulchrum videri, existimari, etc.: to be hidden from anybody’s eyes, aliquid alicui ignotum or incognitum est, etc.

The corner of the eye, angulus oculi: the socket of the eye, cavea (Lactantius).

Inflammation of the eyes, oculorum inflammatio; oculorum sicca perturbatio; arida lippitudo (Cels.; Scribonius, Larg.). In late writers xerophthalmia, from Greek ξηροφθαλμία: disease of the eyes, valetudo oculorum.

figuratively, (a) In trees, oculus: gemma (a bud, Plin., 17, 21, 35, § 153, different from oculus): to put forth eyes, gemmare; gemmascere; gemmas agere. (b) An eye in a peacock’s tail or a butterfly’s wing, oculus (Vid: Plin., 8, 17, 23). (c) Bull’s-eye, medium. To hit the bull’s-eye, medium ferire (Cic., Fat., 17, 39, figuratively). (d) The mind’s eye, oculus (mentis): acies mentis.