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 sacsack1, hence presumably with sense “withdraw from a sack”) + -ade-ade1
Main Entry: sac·cade Pronunciation: sa-'käd Function: noun : a small rapid jerky movement of the eye especially as it jumps from fixation on onepoint to another (as in reading) —sac·cad·ic/-'käd-ik/adjective
saccade 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.