pupil1

[pyoo-puh l] /ˈpyu pəl/
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; Middle English pupille < Middle French < Latin pūpillus (masculine), pūpilla (feminine) orphan, ward, diminutives of pūpus boy, pūpa girl
Related forms
pupilless, 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.

pupil2

[pyoo-puh l] /ˈpyu pəl/
noun, Anatomy
1.
the expanding and contracting opening in the iris of the eye, through which light passes to the retina.
Origin
1350-1400; Middle English < Latin pūpilla literally, little doll; for sense compare Greek kórē girl, doll, pupil of the eye, alluding to the tiny reflections visible in the pupils. See pupa
Related forms
pupilless, adjective
Examples from the web for pupil
  • Emphasize the other definition of scholar, ie, a student or pupil.
  • Any pupil who cannot keep up has to repeat the year.
  • Chameleons' eyelids are fused together, leaving only a pinhole open over the pupil.
  • Look at the center of the pupil and you will see the surrounding purple rings fill with rapid illusory motion.
  • It would also have to study the drawbacks of life as a pupil in a poor district and take action accordingly.
  • Watch the eye and you can see the pupil get smaller.
  • In essence, it performs the same function as the pupil of an eye.
  • Over the course of a day, the pupil in the cats' eyes changed with the sun.
  • Districts would evaluate teachers on a range of factors, including pupil performance.
  • Others believe that the problem lies not with the school but with the pupil.
British Dictionary definitions for pupil

pupil1

/ˈpjuːpəl/
noun
1.
a student who is taught by a teacher, esp a young student
2.
(civil law, Scots law) a boy under 14 or a girl under 12 who is in the care of a guardian
Word Origin
C14: from Latin pupillus an orphan, from pūpus a child

pupil2

/ˈpjuːpəl/
noun
1.
the dark circular aperture at the centre of the iris of the eye, through which light enters
Word Origin
C16: from Latin pūpilla, diminutive of pūpa girl, puppet; from the tiny reflections in the eye
Word Origin and History for pupil
n.

"student," late 14c., originally "orphan child, ward," from Old French pupille (14c.) and directly from Latin pupillus (fem. pupilla) "orphan child, ward, minor," diminutive of pupus "boy" (fem. pupa "girl"), probably related to puer "child," possibly from PIE *pup-, from root *pu- "to swell, inflate." Meaning "disciple, student" first recorded 1560s. Related: Pupillary.

"center of the eye," early 15c. (in English in Latin form from late 14c.), from Old French pupille (14c.), from Latin pupilla, originally "little girl-doll," diminutive of pupa "girl; doll" (see pupil (n.1)), so called from the tiny image one sees of himself reflected in the eye of another. Greek used the same word, kore (literally "girl"), to mean both "doll" and "pupil of the eye;" and cf. obsolete baby "small image of oneself in another's pupil" (1590s), 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]

pupil in Medicine

pupil pu·pil (pyōō'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.
pupil in Science
pupil
  (py'pəl)   
The opening in the center of the iris through which light enters the eye.
pupil in Culture

pupil definition


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

Encyclopedia Article for 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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