cataract

cat·a·ract
C3A1T1A1R1A1C3T1
UK/ˈkætəɹækt/US/ˈkætəˌɹæk(t)/

noun

A (large) waterfall, specifically one flowing over the edge of a cliff.

“His cataract of eloquence”

Similar
waterspoutportcullis
OriginMiddle English cataract ← Old French cataracte ← Latin cataracta →
Less commonScrabble 12
Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

cataract1

nouncataract (plural cataracts)

plural cataracts

  1. A (large) waterfall, specifically one flowing over the edge of a cliff.

    The cataracts on the Nile helped to compartment Upper Egypt.

    5 more examples

    This Elephantis being an Iſland, is inhabited beneath the lovveſt cataract or fall of vvater three miles, and aboue Syene 16: […]

    1601, C[aius] Plinius Secundus [i.e., Pliny the Elder], “[Book V.] Of Asia.”, in Philemon Holland, transl., The Historie of the World. Commonly Called, The Naturall Historie of C. Plinius Secundus. […], 1st tome, London: […] Adam Islip, →OCLC, page 98

    [T]he Salmon ſeekes a freſher ſtreame to find / […] and ſtems the vvatry tract / VVhere Tivy falling dovvne, doth make a Cataract, / Forc't by the riſing Rocks that there her courſe oppoſe, […]

    1612, Michael Drayton, “The Sixt Song”, in [John Selden], editor, Poly-Olbion. Or A Chorographicall Description of Tracts, Riuers, Mountaines, Forests, and Other Parts of this Renowned Isle of Great Britaine, […], London: […] [Humphrey Lownes] for M[athew] Lownes; I[ohn] Browne; I[ohn] Helme; I[ohn] Busbie, →OCLC, page 88

    [C]oming dovvn farther the ſame River, they heard a terrible Noiſe in the River, as of a mighty Cataract, or VVater-fall, vvhich increaſed as they came forvvard, till it grevv ſo loud, that they could not hear themſelves ſpeak, much leſs hear one another.

    1725, [Daniel Defoe], “Part II”, in A New Voyage Round the World, by a Course Never Sailed before. […], London: […] A[rthur] Bettesworth, […]; and W. Mears, […], →OCLC, page 190

    The sounding cataract / Haunted me like a passion: the tall rock, / The mountain, and the deep and gloomy wood, / Their colours and their forms, were then to me / An appetite: […]

    1798 July 13 (date written), William Wordsworth, “[Poems of the Imagination.] Lines Composed a Few Miles above Tintern Abbey, […].”, in Poems […], volume II, London: […] Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brown, […], published 1815, →OCLC, page 76

    Go visit the Prairies in June, when for scores on scores of miles you wade knee-deep among Tiger-lilies—what is the one charm wanting?—Water—there is not a drop of water there! Were Niagara but a cataract of sand, would you travel your thousand miles to see it?

    1851 November 14, Herman Melville, “chapter 1”, in Moby-Dick; or, The Whale, 1st American edition, New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers; London: Richard Bentley, →OCLC
  2. broadlyA flood of water; specifically, steep rapids in a river.

    Locksley Hall, that in the distance overlooks the sandy tracts, / And the hollow ocean-ridges roaring into cataracts.

    1835, Alfred Tennyson, “Locksley Hall”, in Poems. […], volume II, London: Edward Moxon, […], published 1842, →OCLC, page 92
    2 more examples

    [S]uch a violent ſtorme of raine vnburthened it ſelfe neere this place, and cauſed ſuch a ſudden Deluge and Cattaract, that a Carrauan of tvvo thouſand Camels periſht, and vvere caſt avvay by it.

    1634, T[homas] H[erbert], “A Description of Larr”, in A Relation of Some Yeares Trauaile, Begunne Anno 1626. into Afrique and the Greater Asia, […], London: […] William Stansby, and Jacob Bloome, →OCLC, page 54

    [T]here came a storm such as no living Englishman remembered. The summer evening grew black as night. Cataracts of water flooded the houses in the city and turned the streets into rivers; […]

    1860, James Anthony Froude, “Queen Jane and Queen Mary”, in History of England from the Fall of Wolsey to the Death of Elizabeth, volume VI, London: John W[illiam] Parker, and Son, […], →OCLC, page 1
  3. figurativelyAn overwhelming downpour or rush; a flood.

    His cataract of eloquence

    5 more examples

    Cataracts of declamation thunder here, / There foreſts of no-meaning ſpread the page / In vvhich all comprehenſion vvanders loſt; […]

    1785, William Cowper, “Book IV. The Winter Evening.”, in The Task, a Poem, […], London: […] J[oseph] Johnson; […], →OCLC, page 141

    The palace bang'd, and buzz'd and clackt, / And all the long-pent stream of life / Dash'd downward in a cataract.

    1842, Alfred Tennyson, “The Day-Dream. The Revival.”, in Poems. […], volume II, London: Edward Moxon, […], →OCLC, page 156

    Water—there is not a drop of water there! Were Niagara but a cataract of sand, would you travel your thousand miles to see it?

    1851 November 14, Herman Melville, “Loomings”, in Moby-Dick; or, The Whale, 1st American edition, New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers; London: Richard Bentley, →OCLC, page 3

    [T]he look of the man Casimir, between his cataract of black beard and this semi-nightcap, is carelessly truculent.

    1858, Thomas Carlyle, “Of the Baireuth-Anspach Branch”, in History of Friedrich II. of Prussia, Called Frederick the Great, volume I, London: Chapman and Hall, […], →OCLC, book III, page 231

    Never came such a cataract of evil news on an Aulic Council before.

    1858, Thomas Carlyle, “Friedrich Takes the Field again, Intent on Having Neisse”, in History of Friedrich II. of Prussia, Called Frederick the Great, volume I, London: Chapman and Hall, […], →OCLC, book IV, page 459
  4. historicalengineeringA type of governor used in single-acting steam engines, where a flow of water through an opening regulates the stroke.
  5. alsofigurativelyobsoleteSynonym of waterspout (“a whirlwind that forms over water”).

    [W]hat if all / Her ſtores vvere op'n'd, and this Firmament / Of Hell, ſhould ſpout her Cataracts of Fire, […]

    1667, John Milton, “Book II”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC, signature [D4], verso, lines 174–176
    3 more examples

    They ſay furthermore that in certeyne places of the ſea, they ſawe certeyne ſtremes of water which they caule ſpoutes faulynge owt of the ayer into the ſea: […] Sum phantaſie that theſe ſhulde bee the cataractes of heauen whiche were all opened at Noes fludde.

    1555, Peter Martyr of Angleria [i.e., Peter Martyr d’Anghiera], “The Seconde Vyage to Guinea”, in Rycharde [i.e., Richard] Eden, transl., The Decades of the Newe Worlde or West India, […], London: […] [Rycharde Jug for] Guilhelmi Powell, →OCLC, decade, folio 357, verso

    Blovv vvind & cracke your cheekes, rage, blovv / You caterickes, & Hircanios ſpout til you haue drencht, / The ſteeples drovvn'd the cockes, […]

    Blow, wind, and crack your cheeks, rage, blow, / You cataracts and hurricanes, spout till you have drenched / The steeples, drowned the cocks, […]

    c. 1603–1606 (date written), [William Shakespeare], […] His True Chronicle Historie of the Life and Death of King Lear and His Three Daughters. […] (First Quarto), London: […] Nathaniel Butter, […], published 1608, →OCLC, [Act III, scene ii], signature [F4], recto

    [A] long ſpout of ſtinking raine Pyramide vviſe, diſſolued it ſelfe very neere vs. This hidious Cataract, as I conceiue is exhaled by the Suns povverfull Attract, and conuerted into an ill congeſted Cloud, vvanting height and heate, is forced into a violent eruption, vvhich diſſolued by the penetrating Sunne, eſſudes it ſelfe altogether (vvhence it had beginning) into the Ocean, […]

    1634, T[homas] H[erbert], “[The Hesperides]”, in A Relation of Some Yeares Trauaile, Begunne Anno 1626. into Afrique and the Greater Asia, […], London: […] William Stansby, and Jacob Bloome, →OCLC, page 7

    Synonyms: waterspout

verbcataract (third-person singular simple present cataracts, present participle cataracting, simple past and past participle cataracted)

present singular third person cataracts · participle present cataracting · participle past cataracted · past cataracted

  1. intransitiveOf a river, etc.: to fall in the form of a waterfall.

    [N]o river should cataract larger than the Clyde.

    1832 July, [John Wilson], “Christopher [North] at the Lakes. Flight Second.”, in Blackwood’s Edinburgh Magazine, volume XXXII, number CXCVI, Edinburgh: William Blackwood; London: T[homas] Cadell, […], →OCLC, page 125
    1 more example

    After a short rest, we moved on over a quiet space of water to the third and greatest fall, where the whole body of the Nile precipitates itself from between two towering cliffs, foaming and plashing, and, in short, cataracting very respectably.

    1844, Eliot Warburton, “The Cataract and Philæ”, in The Crescent and the Cross; or, Romance and Realities of Eastern Travel. […], volume I, London: Henry Colburn, […], published 1845, →OCLC, page 285
  2. figurativelyraretransitiveTo cause (something) to pour or rush like a waterfall.

    My Poems have been reviewed. The Monthly has cataracted panegyric on me; the Critical cascaded it, and the Analytical dribbled it with civility.

    1796 July 4 (date written), Samuel Taylor Coleridge, “Biographical Supplement to the Biographia Literaria. Chapter III. [1795 to 1796].”, in Biographia Literaria; or Biographical Sketches of My Literary Life and Opinions […], 2nd edition, volume II, part II, London: William Pickering, published 1847, →OCLC, page 370

cataract2

nouncataract (plural cataracts)

plural cataracts

  1. obsoleterareSynonym of portcullis (“a gate in the form of a grating which is lowered into place at the gateway of a castle, a fort, etc.”); also, a window grating.

    Others did fortifie and rampire their Walls, […] assured the Port-culleys, fasten'd the Herses, Sarasinesks and Cataracks, placed their Centries, and doubled their Patrouilee.

    1653, Francis Rabelais [i.e., François Rabelais], translated by [Thomas Urquhart, Peter Anthony Motteux], “The Author’s Prologue to the Third Book”, in The Works of Francis Rabelais, Doctor in Physick: Containing Five Books of the Lives, Heroick Deeds, and Sayings of Gargantua, and His Sonne Pantagruel. […], London: […] [Thomas Ratcliffe and Edward Mottershead] for Richard Baddeley, […], →OCLC; republished in volume I, London: […] Navarre Society […], [1948], →OCLC, 3rd book, page 315

    Synonyms: portcullis

  2. broadlymedicineA clouding of the lens in the eye leading to a decrease in vision.

    Rarely, a dense, swollen neglected cataract precipitates an angle-closure glaucoma.

    1999, Cynthia Mattox, Helen K. Wu, Joel S. Schuman, “Ocular Disorders of Aging”, in Joseph J. Gallo, Jan Busby-Whitehead, Peter V. Rabins, Rebecca A. Silliman, John B. Murphy, William Reichel, editors, Reichel’s Care of the Elderly: Clinical Aspects of Aging, 5th edition, Philadelphia, Pa.; Baltimore, Md.: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, →ISBN, section I (Care of the Elderly Patient: Evaluation, Diagnosis, and Management), page 563, column 2
    2 more examples

    [T]her is a Caratact which doth light vpon the eyes of a Hawke, whome we may tearme a ſuffuſion, a miſchiefe not ſafely remoued, and diuers times impoſſible to be recured, as namely whẽ [when] it is growen too thicke, and ouerlong hath bin ſuffered in the eye, without ſeeking remedie for it: […]

    1575, George Turberuile [i.e.. George Turberville], “Of the Cataract in the Eyes of a Hawke”, in The Booke of Faulconrie or Hauking, for the Onely Delight and Pleasure of All Noblemen and Gentlemen: […], London: […] [Henry Bynneman] for Christopher Barker, […], →OCLC, page 235

    Shallow, this is what I created / Splayed out skeletons in the cracks in the pavement / And now, can you feel the injection back behind those cloudy eyes? / In-between every cataract, a projection of my life

    2022 June 22, “Rotoscope”, in Rotoscope (Rise 510-1), performed by Spiritbox, Beaverton, Or.: Rise Records
    1. broadlyfigurativelymedicineSomething which obscures.

      Thoſe filmes vvhich darkened the eye of the mindes, are remoued, thoſe thicke Cataracts of earthly vanities are diſperſed and diſpelled, and a nevv light into a nevv heart infuſed.

      1631, Richard Brathwait, “Decency”, in The English Gentlewoman, Drawne out to the Full Body: […], London: […] B. Alsop and T. Fawcet, for Michaell Sparke, […], →OCLC, page 86
  3. broadlyobsoletebusinessA tool used for breaking flax; a brake.
    1 more example

    Some modern Pantagruelists, to shun and avoid that manual Labour, which such a separating and partitional Work would of necessity require, employ certain Catarratick Instruments, […] and athwart those Cataracts they break and bruise to very Trash the woody parcels [of the fictional herb “pantagruelion”], thereby to preserve the better the Fibres, which are the precious and excellent parts.

    1653, Francis Rabelais [i.e., François Rabelais], translated by [Thomas Urquhart, Peter Anthony Motteux], “How the Famous Pantagruelion ought to be Prepared and Wrought”, in The Works of Francis Rabelais, Doctor in Physick: Containing Five Books of the Lives, Heroick Deeds, and Sayings of Gargantua, and His Sonne Pantagruel. […], London: […] [Thomas Ratcliffe and Edward Mottershead] for Richard Baddeley, […], →OCLC; republished in volume II, London: […] Navarre Society […], [1948], →OCLC, 3rd book, page 60

Cataract3

proper noun
  1. A suburb of Wollongong in the Wollondilly council area and the Wollongong council area, New South Wales, Australia.

Synonyms & antonyms

nounSynonym of waterspout (“a whirlwind that forms over water”).

Similar
waterspout

nounSynonym of portcullis (“a gate in the form of a grating which is lowered into place at the gateway of a castle, a fort, etc.”); also, a window grating.

Similar
portcullis
Also see
brakeportculliswaterfallwaterspout

Origin

cataract · noun, verb

  1. Proto-Indo-European*wreh₂ǵʰ-“to pound, strike”
  2. Ancient Greekκαταρ(ρ)άκτης“(noun) waterfall; (adjective) rushing downwards”
  3. Latincataracta“floodgate; waterfall”
  4. Old Frenchcataracte
  5. Middle Englishcataract
  6. Englishcataract

PIE word *ḱóm The noun is derived from cataracts (noun (plural only)), from Late Middle English cataract, cataracta, cateract, cateracte (“floodgate of heaven”), from Old French cataracte (modern French cataracte), and from its etymon Latin cataracta (“floodgate; waterfall”), from Ancient Greek καταρ(ρ)άκτης (katar(rh)áktēs, “(noun) waterfall; (adjective) rushing downwards”), from καταρ(ρ)ᾱ́σσω (katar(rh)ā́ssō, “to pour down; to rush downwards”) + -της (-tēs, suffix forming nouns denoting a state of being). Καταρ(ρ)ᾱ́σσω (Katar(rh)ā́ssō) is derived either: * from κᾰτᾰ- (kătă-, prefix meaning ‘downwards’) + ἀρᾰ́σσω (arắssō, “to dash to pieces; to strike”) (further etymology unknown, possibly onomatopoeic) or ῥᾱ́σσω (rhā́ssō, “to dash; to strike”) (possibly ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *wreh₂ǵʰ- (“to pound, strike”)); or * from καταρρηγνύναι (katarrhēgnúnai, “to break down”). The verb is derived from the noun.

More words from Middle English, Old French, Latin

Full word history & related roots →

cataract · noun

  1. Proto-Indo-European*(s)kleh₂w-“crook, hook; peg; to close something”
  2. grc-dorκλᾳ̃θρα
  3. Ancient Greekκαταρ(ρ)άκτης“act of rushing down; portcullis”
  4. Latincataracta“portcullis”
  5. Old Frenchcataracte“clouding of the lens in the eye”
  6. Middle Englishcataract
  7. Englishcataract

From Late Middle English cataract, cataracta, cateract, cateracte (“(medicine) clouding of the lens in the eye”), from Old French cataracte (“clouding of the lens in the eye”), and then either: * from its etymon Latin cataracta (“portcullis”) (in the sense of something blocking vision as a portcullis blocks a gateway), from Ancient Greek καταρ(ρ)άκτης (katar(rh)áktēs, “act of rushing down; portcullis”) (see further at etymology 1); or * from clāthrāta (in fenestra clāthrāta (“window grating”)), an inflected form of clāthrātus (“grated, latticed, clathrate”), from clāthrī (“grate, lattic”) + -ātus (suffix denoting possession of something, forming adjectives from nouns). Clāthrī is derived from Doric Greek κλᾷθρα (klāîthra), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *(s)kleh₂w- (“crook, hook; peg; to close something”).

More words from Middle English, Old French, Latin

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Ancient Greek καταρράκτης, γλαύκωμα
  • καταρράκτης (katarrháktēs)(large) waterfall, specifically one flowing over the edge of a cliff (cognates) — see also waterfall
  • γλαύκωμα (glaúkōma)clouding of the lens in the eye
Arabic السَّادّ, الْمَاء الْأَبْيَض
  • السَّادّ (as-sādd)clouding of the lens in the eye
  • الْمَاء الْأَبْيَض (al-māʔ al-ʔabyaḍ)clouding of the lens in the eye
  • إعْتَام عَدَسَة الْعَيْنclouding of the lens in the eye
Bulgarian потоп, проливен дъжд
  • потоп (potop)flood of water — see also flood
  • проливен дъжд (proliven dăžd)flood of water — see also flood
  • катарáкт (katarákt)clouding of the lens in the eye
  • перде́ (perdé)clouding of the lens in the eye
Catalan cataracta
  • cataractaclouding of the lens in the eye
Chinese Mandarin 洪流, 白內障 /白内障
  • 洪流 (hóngliú)flood of water — see also flood
  • 白內障 /白内障 (báinèizhàng)clouding of the lens in the eye
Czech katarakt, katarakta
  • katarakt(large) waterfall, specifically one flowing over the edge of a cliff (cognates) — see also waterfall
  • kataraktaclouding of the lens in the eye
  • šedý zákalclouding of the lens in the eye
Danish grå stær, katarakt
  • grå stærclouding of the lens in the eye
  • kataraktclouding of the lens in the eye
  • kataraktclouding of the lens in the eye
Dutch cataract, stortvloed
  • cataract(large) waterfall, specifically one flowing over the edge of a cliff (cognates) — see also waterfall
  • stortvloedflood of water — see also flood
  • cataractclouding of the lens in the eye
  • grijze staarclouding of the lens in the eye
Esperanto katarakto
  • kataraktoclouding of the lens in the eye
Finnish kuohu, ryöppy
  • kuohuflood of water — see also flood
  • ryöppyflood of water — see also flood
  • tulvaflood of water — see also flood
  • nestejarrutype of governor used in single-acting steam engines, where a flow of water through an opening regulates the stroke
  • pudotaof a river, etc.: to fall in the form of a waterfall
  • syöksyäof a river, etc.: to fall in the form of a waterfall
  • syöstäto cause (something) to pour or rush like a waterfall
  • kaihisomething which obscures
  • kaihiclouding of the lens in the eye
French cataracte, cataracte
  • cataracte(large) waterfall, specifically one flowing over the edge of a cliff (cognates) — see also waterfall
  • cataracteclouding of the lens in the eye
German Katarakt, Katarakt
  • Katarakt(large) waterfall, specifically one flowing over the edge of a cliff (cognates) — see also waterfall
  • Kataraktclouding of the lens in the eye
  • grauer Starclouding of the lens in the eye
Greek καταρράκτης, καταρράκτης
  • καταρράκτης (katarráktis)(large) waterfall, specifically one flowing over the edge of a cliff (cognates) — see also waterfall
  • καταρράκτης (katarráktis)clouding of the lens in the eye
Hebrew תְּבַלּוּל
  • תְּבַלּוּל (tvalúl)clouding of the lens in the eye
Hungarian katarakta, hályog
  • kataraktaclouding of the lens in the eye
  • hályogclouding of the lens in the eye
  • szürke hályogclouding of the lens in the eye
Icelandic ský á auga
  • ský á augaclouding of the lens in the eye
Indonesian katarak, katarak
  • katarak(large) waterfall, specifically one flowing over the edge of a cliff (cognates) — see also waterfall
  • katarakclouding of the lens in the eye
Irish fionn
  • fionnclouding of the lens in the eye
Italian cateratta, cataratta
  • cateratta(large) waterfall, specifically one flowing over the edge of a cliff (cognates) — see also waterfall
  • catarattaclouding of the lens in the eye
Japanese 激流, 白内障
  • 激流 (gekiryū)flood of water — see also flood
  • 白内障 (hakunaishō)clouding of the lens in the eye
Korean 백내장
  • 백내장 (baengnaejang)clouding of the lens in the eye
Latin cataracta
  • cataracta(large) waterfall, specifically one flowing over the edge of a cliff (cognates) — see also waterfall
Malay katarak
  • katarakclouding of the lens in the eye
Persian آبمروارید
  • آبمروارید (âb-morvârid)clouding of the lens in the eye
Polish blachmal, bielmo
  • blachmalclouding of the lens in the eye
  • bielmoclouding of the lens in the eye
Portuguese catarata, catarata
  • catarata(large) waterfall, specifically one flowing over the edge of a cliff (cognates) — see also waterfall
  • catarataclouding of the lens in the eye
Romanian cataractă
  • cataractă(large) waterfall, specifically one flowing over the edge of a cliff (cognates) — see also waterfall
Russian ли́вень, пото́п
  • ли́вень (lívenʹ)flood of water — see also flood
  • пото́п (potóp)flood of water — see also flood
  • проливно́й дождь (prolivnój doždʹ)flood of water — see also flood
  • катара́кта (katarákta)clouding of the lens in the eye
Scottish Gaelic neul-sùla
  • neul-sùlaclouding of the lens in the eye
Slovak katarakta, sivý zákal
  • kataraktaclouding of the lens in the eye
  • sivý zákalclouding of the lens in the eye
Spanish catarata, catarata
  • catarata(large) waterfall, specifically one flowing over the edge of a cliff (cognates) — see also waterfall
  • catarataclouding of the lens in the eye
Swahili mtoto wa jicho
  • mtoto wa jichoclouding of the lens in the eye
Swedish katarakt, grå starr
  • kataraktclouding of the lens in the eye
  • grå starrclouding of the lens in the eye
Tagalog katarata
  • katarataclouding of the lens in the eye
Tamil பூ
  • பூ (pū)clouding of the lens in the eye
Thai ต้อกระจก
  • ต้อกระจก (grà-jòk)clouding of the lens in the eye
Turkish şelale, çavlan
  • şelale(large) waterfall, specifically one flowing over the edge of a cliff (cognates) — see also waterfall
  • çavlan(large) waterfall, specifically one flowing over the edge of a cliff (cognates) — see also waterfall
  • kaskat(large) waterfall, specifically one flowing over the edge of a cliff (cognates) — see also waterfall
  • çağlayan(large) waterfall, specifically one flowing over the edge of a cliff (cognates) — see also waterfall
  • kataraktclouding of the lens in the eye
  • akbasmaclouding of the lens in the eye
  • aksuclouding of the lens in the eye
  • perdeclouding of the lens in the eye
Ukrainian катара́кта
  • катара́кта (katarákta)clouding of the lens in the eye
Vietnamese cườm khô
  • cườm khôclouding of the lens in the eye
Welsh niwlen
  • niwlenclouding of the lens in the eye
Zulu umthuqu
  • umthuquclouding of the lens in the eye
Cite this entry
APA

cataract. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cataract

MLA

“cataract.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cataract. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “cataract,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cataract.

Source: cataract on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.