Meanings
plural scleras · plural sclerae · plural scleræ
- anatomyThe white of the eye; the tough outer coat of the eye that covers the eyeball except for the cornea.
She'd been back a week and it was clear that college-level track was kicking her ass, the sclera in her normally wide manga-eyes were shot through with blood vessels.
2007, Junot Diaz, The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao1 more example
Such pressures explain why humans are peculiar in having our rather small irises set against a white background—the sclera—in our eyes. Anyone watching us can infer where we are looking or whom we are looking at.
2016, Joseph Henrich, chapter 13, in The Secret of Our Success […] , Princeton: Princeton University Press, →ISBNSynonyms: sclerotic, sclerotic coat
Synonyms & antonyms
nounThe white of the eye; the tough outer coat of the eye that covers the eyeball except for the cornea.
More synonyms by meaning
nounthe whitish fibrous membrane (albuginea) that with the cornea forms the outer covering and protection of the eyeball
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Ancient Greekσκληρός“hard”
- New Latinsclera
- Englishsclera
Borrowed from New Latin sclera, from Ancient Greek σκληρός (sklērós, “hard”).
More words from New Latin, Ancient Greek
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Ancient Greek σφενδόνη
- σφενδόνη (sphendónē)white of the eye
Arabic مُقْلَة, بَيَاض اَلْعَيْن
- مُقْلَة (muqla)white of the eye
- بَيَاض اَلْعَيْن (bayāḍ al-ʕayn)white of the eye
Chinese Mandarin 鞏膜 /巩膜
- 鞏膜 /巩膜 (gǒngmó)white of the eye
Czech bělima
- bělimawhite of the eye
Dutch oogwit, sclera
- oogwitwhite of the eye
- sclerawhite of the eye
Esperanto sklero
- sklerowhite of the eye
Finnish silmänvalkuainen
- silmänvalkuainenwhite of the eye
German Lederhaut, Sklera
- Lederhautwhite of the eye
- Sklerawhite of the eye
Greek σκληρός χιτώνας
- σκληρός χιτώνας (sklirós chitónas)white of the eye
Hebrew לֹבֶן הָעַיִן
- לֹבֶן הָעַיִןwhite of the eye
Irish gealacán, gealacán súile
- gealacánwhite of the eye
- gealacán súilewhite of the eye
Italian sclera
- sclerawhite of the eye
Latvian sklēra, acs baltums
- sklērawhite of the eye
- acs baltumswhite of the eye
Māori teatea
- teateawhite of the eye
Polish twardówka, białkówka
- twardówkawhite of the eye
- białkówkawhite of the eye
Portuguese esclera
- esclerawhite of the eye
Russian скле́ра
- скле́ра (skléra)white of the eye
Spanish esclera, esclerótica
- esclerawhite of the eye
- escleróticawhite of the eye
Swedish sklera, ögonvita
- sklerawhite of the eye
- ögonvitawhite of the eye
Turkish göz akı, sert kat
- göz akıwhite of the eye
- sert katwhite of the eye
- sert tabakawhite of the eye
Ukrainian біло́к
- біло́к (bilók)white of the eye
Welsh sglera
- sglerawhite of the eye
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with sclera
All rhymes →Anagrams
Cite this entry
sclera. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sclera
“sclera.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sclera. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “sclera,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sclera.
Source: sclera on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.