eyelid
/ˈaɪ.lɪd/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: 3.01 in modern English
10
Scrabble Score
6
Letters
2
Syllables
5
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
A thin skin membrane that covers and moves over an eye.
Example Sentences
- "By his neeſings a light doth ſhine, and his eyes are like the eye-liddes of the morning."
- "[…] the frightened or insane eyes of an animal, sometimes with eyelids closed in escapeful slumber."
- "Allergan, the company that turned an obscure muscle paralyzer for eyelid spasms, Botox, into a blockbuster wrinkle smoother, hopes to perform cosmetic alchemy yet again."
Etymology
From Middle English eyelidd, eye-led, eiȝelid, eghe-lydd, yȝe-lydd, ehlid, yhelidd, from an unrecorded Old English *ēaghlid (“eyelid”), from Proto-West Germanic *augahlid (“eyelid”), equivalent to eye + lid. Cognate with Saterland Frisian Oogenlid (“eyelid”), West Frisian eachlid (“eyelid”), Dutch ooglid (“eyelid”), German Low German Ooglidd (“eyelid”), German Augenlid (“eyelid”). Generally superseded non-native Middle English palpebre (“eyelid”), borrowed from Latin palpebra (“eyelid”) (see Modern English palpebra).
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: *ḱley-, eyelidd, *ēaghlid, *augahlid