Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun Any of various semiprecious gems such as chrysoberyl, BeAl2O4, reflecting a band of light that shifts position as the gem is turned.
- noun A glass or plastic reflector designed to glow in the beam of a headlight, used on a vehicle as a safety device or set in rows along a highway as lane markers.
- noun A marble having an eyelike design, such as concentric circles or a colored center set in clear glass.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun A variety of quartz, very hard and semi-transparent, and from certain points exhibiting a yellowish opalescent radiation or chatoyant appearance, whence the name.
- noun A species of the plant scabious, Scabiosa stellata.
- noun In pathology, an opalescent appearance of the eye in certain cases of amaurosis.
- noun See
tiger's-eye . - noun The operculum of a marine mollusk, Turbo smaragdus.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun (Min.) A variety of quartz or chalcedony, exhibiting opalescent reflections from within, like the eye of a cat. The name is given to other gems affording like effects, esp. the chrysoberyl.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun mineralogy A
gemstone mineral (a variety ofchalcedonic quartz ) that has alustre resembling the eye of a cat when cut en cabochon - noun UK, New Zealand Any of a chain of
reflecting studs used to demarcatetraffic lanes .
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun any of various gems (as chrysoberyl or chalcedony) that reflect light when cut in a rounded shape
Etymologies
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Examples
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Damaris wore a butter-yellow dress that perfectly matched her soft hair and that was adorned with tiny seed pearls and creamy brown cat's-eye agates.
Stalling 2010
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She'd changed into a cute little sundress in the bathroom, fluffed up her newly straightened dark brown hair, put on the chic cat's-eye glasses.
7th Heaven Patterson, James 2008
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With Halloween near, the company is introducing a cat's-eye lens like Michael Jackson's in the "" Thriller '' video.
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"I'm finding this cat's-eye thing incredibly fascinating," she said.
Old Mans War 2005
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Most of the pieces were cat's-eye items and had come from Arzor.
Beast Master's Circus Norton, Andre 2004
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To a camp child a stone worth only a fraction of the value Logan had quoted on a green cat's-eye gem was still real riches.
Beast Master's Circus Norton, Andre 2004
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The girl too had wisely stripped her cat's-eye jewelry, gifts of the tribe, and hidden it in a hastily scooped hole just by the tent rim.
Beast Master's Circus Norton, Andre 2004
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She had enough to pay her way for two years with the credits Prauo had brought her and the cat's-eye the Quades had permitted her to keep.
Beast Master's Circus Norton, Andre 2004
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Use the cat's-eye gem to buy passage back to Arzor.
Beast Master's Circus Norton, Andre 2004
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He touched the leather thong still around his own neck, and turned it in his hands until the cat's-eye jewel strung on it was in his hand.
Acorna's Rebels McCaffrey, Anne 2003
fbharjo commented on the word cat's-eye
i.e. chrysoberyl
May 5, 2011