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Definition of pupil - 10 dictionary results

pu⋅pil

1  [pyoo-puhl]
Use pupil in a Sentence
–noun
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.
Origin:
1350–1400; ME pupille < MF < L pūpillus (masc.), pūpilla (fem.) orphan, ward, diminutives of pūpus boy, pūpa girl

Related forms:
pu⋅pil⋅less, adjective

Synonyms:
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-puhl]
–noun Anatomy.
the expanding and contracting opening in the iris of the eye, through which light passes to the retina.

Origin:
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:
pu⋅pil⋅less, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To pupil
pu·pil 1   (pyōō'pəl)   
n.  

  1. A student under the direct supervision of a teacher or professor.

  2. Law A minor under the supervision of a guardian.


[Middle English pupille, orphan, from Old French, from Latin pūpillus, diminutive of pūpus, boy.]
pu·pil 2   (pyōō'pəl)   
n.  The apparently black circular opening in the center of the iris of the eye, through which light passes to the retina.

[Middle English, from Old French pupille, from Latin pūpilla, little doll, pupil of the eye (from the tiny image reflected in it); see pupil1.]
pu'pi·lar 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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Cultural Dictionary

pupil

The seemingly black, central opening in the iris of the eye, through which light enters.

The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Word Origin & History

pupil  (1)
"student," 1382, originally "orphan child, ward," from O.Fr. pupille (14c.), from L. pupillus (fem. pupilla) "orphan, ward, minor," dim. of pupus "boy" (fem. pupa "girl"), probably related to puer "child," probably from PIE *pup-, from base *pu- "to swell, inflate." Meaning "disciple, student" first recorded 1563.

pupil  (2)
"center of the eye," 1670 (in L. form from 1398), from O.Fr. pupille (14c.), from L. pupilla, originally "little girl-doll," dim. of pupa "girl, doll" (see pupil (1)), so called from the tiny image one sees of himself reflected in the eye of another. Gk. is said also to have used the same word, kore (lit. "girl"), to mean both "doll" and "pupil of the eye;" and cf. obsolete baby "small image of oneself in another's pupil" (1593), source of 17c. colloquial expression to look babies "stare lovingly into another's eyes."
"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]
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: pu·pil
Pronunciation: 'pyü-p&l
Function: noun
: the contractile usually round aperture in the iris of the eye
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Medical Dictionary

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.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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Encyclopedia

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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Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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