[ˈkatərakt], (Noun)

Definitions:
- a medical condition in which the lens of the eye becomes progressively opaque, resulting in blurred vision
(e.g: she had cataracts in both eyes)

- a large waterfall
(e.g: the river descends in a succession of spectacular cataracts)


Phrases:

Origin:
late Middle English (in the sense ‘floodgate’): from Latin cataracta ‘waterfall, floodgate’, also ‘portcullis’ (medical cataract probably being a figurative use of this), from Greek kataraktēs ‘down-rushing’, from katarassein, from kata- ‘down’ + arassein ‘strike, smash’