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Saccades - 2 dictionary results

sac⋅cade

  [sa-kahd, suh-]
Use Saccades in a Sentence
–noun
1. the act of checking a horse quickly with a single strong pull of the reins.
2. Ophthalmology. the series of small, jerky movements of the eyes when changing focus from one point to another.
Origin:
1720–30; < F saccade jerk, jolt, orig., movement of a horseman who abruptly pulls the reins, equiv. to MF saqu(er) to pull violently (N dial. var. of OF sachier, ult. deriv. of sac sack 1 , hence presumably with sense “withdraw from a sack”) + -ade -ade 1
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To Saccades
sac·cade   (sā-käd', sə-)   
n.  A rapid intermittent eye movement, as that which occurs when the eyes fix on one point after another in the visual field.

[French, twitch, from Old French, from Old North French saqiuer, to pull, from sac, sack; see sac.]
sac·cad'ic adj.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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