third eye
- noun
- /θɜrd aɪ/
- Specialized
:
tercer ojo
- In some reptiles, the third eye helps detect changes in light even when their eyes are closed.
Examples
-
Researchers have found that the third eye can react to light, similar to regular eyes.
-
The third eye on the top of a lizard's head allows it to sense predators from above.
-
When did she get the third eye removed?
-
A blue dot appears on her forehead like a third eye.
Fiction book (2000) -
You got that third eye right here," she tapped her forehead, "and you can see right down that narrow line.
Fiction book (1993) -
A clean bullethole has left him with a third eye, a bloody back, and an entourage of late summer flies.
Fiction book (1993) -
Ancient researchers gave this third eye a biological designation: the pineal gland.
Blog text (12)
Synonyms
A small organ that senses light on top of the head in some lizards and other animals
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'a light-sensitive organ on the top of the head' is directly derivable from combining 'third' (ordinal number three) with 'eye' (a vision organ); a B1 learner who knows both words would infer an additional/extra eye. This composition is literal and cross-linguistically common, so the biological sense is immediately comprehensible (note: there is also a metaphoric 'third eye' sense, but that does not affect the compositional transparency of the biological meaning).
Etymology
Third eye comes from some reptiles that really have a small extra eye on the top of their head. This extra eye can 'detect changes in light' to help the animal know day from night, so the phrase means a light-sensitive organ.
