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   cataract

   /ˈkatərakt/

   noun

   • 1. a medical condition in which the lens of the eye becomes progressively opaque, resulting in blurred vision: "she had cataracts in both eyes" Similar opacityopaqueness
   • 2. a large waterfall: "the river descends in a succession of spectacular cataracts" Similar waterfallcascadefallsrapidswhite watertorrentdownpourshowerforcearchaic:linn
   • ▪ a sudden rush of water; a downpour: "the rain enveloped us in a deafening cataract"

   Word Origin late Middle English (in the sense ‘floodgate’): from Latin cataracta ‘waterfall, floodgate’, also ‘portcullis’ (medical cataract (sense 1) probably being a figurative use of this), from Greek kataraktēs ‘down-rushing’, from katarassein, from kata- ‘down’ + arassein ‘strike, smash’.

   Scrabble Points: 12

   • C

     3

   • A

     1

   • T

     1

   • A

     1

   • R

     1

   • A

     1

   • C

     3

   • T

     1

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