pu⋅pil
1 [pyoo-puh
l]
| 1. | a person, usually young, who is learning under the close supervision of a teacher at school, a private tutor, or the like; student. |
| 2. | Civil Law. an orphaned or emancipated minor under the care of a guardian. |
| 3. | Roman Law. a person under the age of puberty orphaned or emancipated, and under the care of a guardian. |
1350–1400; ME pupille < MF < L pūpillus (masc.), pūpilla (fem.) orphan, ward, diminutives of pūpus boy, pūpa girl

Related forms:
1. apprentice, novice. Pupil, disciple, scholar, student refer to a person who is studying, usually in a school. A pupil is one under the close supervision of a teacher, either because of youth or of specialization in some branch of study: a grade-school pupil; the pupil of a famous musician. A disciple is one who follows the teachings or doctrines of a person whom he or she considers to be a master or authority: a disciple of Swedenborg. Scholar, once meaning the same as pupil, is today usually applied to one who has acquired wide erudition in some field of learning: a great Latin scholar. A student is a person attending an educational institution or someone who has devoted much attention to a particular problem: a college student; a student of politics.
pu⋅pil
2 [pyoo-puh
l]
| the expanding and contracting opening in the iris of the eye, through which light passes to the retina. |
1350–1400; ME < L pūpilla lit., little doll; for sense cf. Gk kórē girl, doll, pupil of the eye, alluding to the tiny reflections visible in the pupils. See pupa

Related forms:
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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Pupil
Pu"pil\, n. [F. pupille, n. fem., L. pupilla the pupil of the eye, originally dim. of pupa a girl. See Puppet, and cf. Pupil a scholar.] (Anat.) The aperture in the iris; the sight, apple, or black of the eye. See the Note under Eye, and Iris. Pin-hole pupil (Med.), the pupil of the eye when so contracted (as it sometimes is in typhus, or opium poisoning) as to resemble a pin hole. --Dunglison.Pupil
Pu"pil\, n. [F. pupille, n. masc. & fem., L. pupillus, pupilla, dim. of pupus boy, pupa girl. See Puppet, and cf. Pupil of the eye.]1. A youth or scholar of either sex under the care of an instructor or tutor. Too far in years to be a pupil now. --Shak. Tutors should behave reverently before their pupils. --L'Estrange. 2. A person under a guardian; a ward. --Dryden. 3. (Civil Law) A boy or a girl under the age of puberty, that is, under fourteen if a male, and under twelve if a female. Syn: Learner; disciple; tyro. -- See Scholar.Cite This Source
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pupil (1)
pupil (2)
"Self-knowledge can be obtained only by looking into the mind and virtue of the soul, which is the diviner part of a man, as we see our own image in another’s eye." [Plato, "Alcibiades," I.133]
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Main Entry: pu·pil
Pronunciation: 'pyü-p&l
Function: noun
: the contractile usually round aperture in the iris of the eye
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pupil pu·pil (py&oomacr;'pəl)
n.
The apparently black circular opening in the center of the iris of the eye, through which light passes to the retina.
pu'pi·lar adj.
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pupil (py 'pəl) Pronunciation Key
The opening in the center of the iris through which light enters the eye. |
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pupil
in the anatomy of the eye, the opening within the iris through which light passes before reaching the lens and being focused onto the retina. The size of the opening is governed by the muscles of the iris, which rapidly constrict the pupil when exposed to bright light and expand (dilate) the pupil in dim light. Parasympathetic nerve fibres from the third (oculomotor) cranial nerve innervate the muscle that causes constriction of the pupil, whereas sympathetic nerve fibres control dilation. The pupillary aperture also narrows when focusing on close objects and dilates for more distant viewing. At its maximum contraction, the adult pupil may be less than 1 mm (0.04 inch) in diameter, and it may increase up to 10 times to its maximum diameter. The size of the human pupil may also vary as a result of age, disease, trauma, or other abnormalities within the visual system, including dysfunction of the pathways controlling pupillary movement. Thus, careful evaluation of the pupils is an important part of both eye and neurologic exams.
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